Why it works: Butter and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Lemon Jelly Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cake
Beat two large eggs well.
Melt a third of a cup of butter.
Stir in one cup sugar.
Add half cup water or milk.
Stir in one and a half cups flour, salt, and two teaspoonfuls baking powder.
Bake in three jelly tins.
Make the jelly and assemble
While the cake is baking, prepare the jelly: grate the yellow rind of one lemon, add the juice, a great spoonful of water, half cup sugar, a lump of butter large as a walnut, and one cup water or milk. Beat all together and let boil up a minute in a small tin.
When the cake is done, remove it and spread the cooled jelly mixture over it.
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 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
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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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Eggs
- Provide structure and moisture that hold the cake batter together.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavour in both cake and jelly.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and jelly and helps brown the crust.
- Lemon
- Its rind and juice add acidity and bright citrus aroma to the jelly.
The step that matters
Spreading the jelly on the cake. The jelly should be cooled before it goes on the cake, and the cake should be fully baked and removed from the tins. Warm, runny jelly soaks into a still-soft crumb and makes the layer soggy and uneven.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg. 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.
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