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 ↓
Loaf Cake
eight loavesIngredients
Directions
Make the dough
Rub butter and sugar together.
Add wine, brandy, soda, spices, and half of the butter‑sugar mixture to the flour.
Add half a pint of domestic yeast.
Mix to make dough not quite as stiff as biscuit.
Add the second mixture and rise
When dough has risen, add the other half of butter and sugar, spices, and brandy.
Add beaten eggs, raisins, and citron.
Let rise an hour in tins.
Bake and keep
Bake one and a quarter hours.
It will keep all winter if frosted.
This rule makes eight loaves.
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 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the loaves as its proteins and starches set during baking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness by coating flour particles and shortening the crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown and stay moist.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Domestic yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide gas, which makes the dough rise and gives the loaves a light texture.
- Raisins
- Add moisture and concentrated sweetness throughout the loaf.
The step that matters
Letting the dough rise in the tins. Yeast produces carbon dioxide gas that inflates the dough. If the dough is not given enough time to rise, the gas is insufficient and the loaves bake up dense and heavy.
“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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