Name: Eggless Cake
Ingredients: 2 cups brown sugar; 3 cups fiour; 1 cup sour milk; 1 cup chopped raisins

Why it works: Sugar and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Eggless Cake

Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar
3 cups fiour
1 cup sour milk
1 cup chopped raisins

Directions

Mix 1 cup butter and lard with ½ nutmeg, grated.
Flavor with lemon or vanilla, and bake for ½ hour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

260Calories

9 gProtein

8 gFat

41 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sour Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
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 Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog]. 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 + raisintop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Milk + raisintop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,155 recipes

Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together77,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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 (in the method): Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crumb stay tender.
Sour milk: Its acidity tenderizes the crumb and adds moisture.
Raisins: Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the cake.