Name: Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients: two tablespoonfuls butter; 4 cups granulated sugar; 4 cup milk; 4 cups flour; 2 cup raisins floured; 3 egg yolks; 2 tea- spoons vanilla; 3 whites of eggs beaten last; three layers

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 ↓

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Cream butter, egg yolks, sugar, chocolate, milk, nuts, flour, vanilla, raisins, baking powder, and beaten egg whites.
Bake in three layers or in long pans.
Cut in squares and ice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

907Calories

28 gProtein

26 gFat

137 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12

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

By New Orleans Federation of Clubs. 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.

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.

Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Tea + vanillatop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together170 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Egg yolks: Add richness and help bind the batter for a tender crumb.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Beaten egg whites: Trap air in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.
Sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps it brown and keep moisture.
Butter: Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg, tea, vanilla):

Figfits about as well
Peachfits about as well
Blueberryfits about as well
Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg, tea, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.