Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Macadamia Coconut Bars
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pan
Preheat the oven to 350°F and position a rack in the centre.
Turn a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan upside down. Press a 17-inch length of foil, shiny side down, onto the baking pan, shaping it to the sides and corners with your hands. Remove the foil.
Run tap water into the baking pan to wet it all over. Pour out all but about 1 tablespoon of the water.
Place the shaped foil in the baking pan and press it gently against the bottom and sides to adhere.
Put 1 tablespoon of the butter in the baking pan and melt it in the oven. Using a piece of crumpled plastic wrap, spread the melted butter all over the foil.
Place the baking pan in the freezer.
Make the brown sugar layer
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the stick of butter at medium-high speed until soft. Beat in the light brown sugar, then the egg and the salt.
Beat in the sifted unbleached flour at low speed until just incorporated.
Using a spoon, dollop the dough all over the bottom of the cold baking pan. With floured fingertips, pat the dough evenly to cover the bottom of the pan, re-flouring your fingertips frequently.
Bake this brown sugar layer for about 14 minutes, or until set.
Remove from the oven and let stand. Leave the oven on.
Make the macadamia topping and bake
Shake the macadamia nuts gently in a coarse strainer to remove any excess salt.
Sift together the unbleached flour, the baking powder, and the salt, and set aside.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract at medium speed until mixed. Beat in the sifted dry ingredients at low speed.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in the macadamia nuts and two-thirds of the shredded coconut. Using a tablespoon, dollop the mixture evenly on top of the brown sugar layer and spread to form a smooth layer.
Sprinkle the remaining shredded coconut on top. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pan once, until the top is richly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Slice and serve
To slice, cover the pan with a flat board or a cookie sheet and invert. Remove the pan and peel off the foil. Cover with another board or cookie sheet and invert again so the cake is right side up.
Refrigerate or freeze the cake for 1 hour.
Using a large, heavy, serrated knife, cut the cake crosswise into quarters, then cut each strip crosswise into 8 bars, each about 3¼ inches by 1 inch (or halve these bars crosswise again for pieces about 1⅔ inches by 1 inch).
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Unsalted butter
- Provides fat that gives the brown sugar layer its tender, rich crumb.
- Light brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and its molasses helps the layers brown.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and sets the structure of the brown sugar layer and topping.
- Unbleached flour
- Provides the structure that holds the bars together once baked and set.
- Macadamia nuts (in the method)
- Add rich, buttery crunch to the topping.
- Shredded coconut (in the method)
- Adds chewy texture and toasty browning on the top layer.
The step that matters
Bake the topping until richly browned and clean on a toothpick. Underbaking leaves the topping wet and the bars sticky and hard to slice; the egg and flour need to fully set, while over-browning makes the coconut bitter. Cool completely before inverting so the layers hold together.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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