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Dessert

Graham Cakes

A sweet cake made with sugar, molasses, flour, soda, buttermilk, spices, raisins, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mansfield, W. H., & co., Putnam, Conn., pub. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Graham Cakes

Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Graham Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Mix the batter

  1. Beat two eggs.

  2. Add one cup of sugar.

  3. Add one-half cup of molasses.

  4. Add two and one-half cups of flour.

  5. Add one teaspoon of soda.

  6. Add one cup of buttermilk.

  7. Add one teaspoon of all kinds of spice.

  8. Add butter, size of an egg.

  9. Add one cup of raisins, stoned and chopped.

Bake

  1. Bake in oven pans.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

851Calories
28 gProtein
15 gFat
151 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mansfield, W. H., & co., Putnam, Conn., pub. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together526 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set during baking to give the cake structure and richness.
Flour
Forms the structure as its proteins and starch set in the oven.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the cake brown and stay moist.
Molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark colour and flavour.
Buttermilk
Adds moisture and tang, and its acidity reacts with the soda.
Soda
Reacts with the acid in the batter to release gas that makes the cake rise.

The step that matters

Add one teaspoon of soda.. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients such as buttermilk and molasses to release carbon dioxide gas. That gas is what lifts the batter, so the mixture should be baked promptly once it is combined.

“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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