Name: Poor Max's Cake
Ingredients: 1 cup sugar; 1 tablespoon lard; 1 cup buttermilk; 1 teaspoon soda; 1 teaspoon mixed ground spices; 1 large cup raisins; 2 layers

Why it works: Sugar and buttermilk match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,973 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Poor Max's Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Mrs. Thomas Rice.
1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lard, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 large cup raisins and currants, 1 teaspoon soda, 1 teaspoon mixed ground spices, 1} cups flour.
Mix and beat well. This makes 2 layers. For tilling, take 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup sugar, and boil to a thick syrup. Spread on the outside also.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

375Calories

9 gProtein

21 gFat

41 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
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.

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.

Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Buttermilk + raisintop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together189 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).