Name: Apple Sauce Cake
Ingredients: 2 cups flour; 1 cup seeded raisins; 1 tablespoon hot water; 2 teaspoons soda; 1 teaspoon cloves

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 ↓

Apple Sauce Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Cook apples as for the table, straining and sweetening.

Make and bake

Mix 1 cup sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 cup apple sauce, 1 cup seeded raisins, 1 tablespoon hot water, 2 teaspoons soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon cloves.
Bake in a loaf cake.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

573Calories

14 gProtein

2 gFat

125 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Water	not in our table	0

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

By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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).
Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,070 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Flour + clovetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,671 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Seeded raisins: Adds moisture and sweetness, and chewy pieces throughout the crumb.
Soda: Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes lighter.
Cloves: Contributes a warm, spicy aroma to the cake.