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 ↓
Watermelon Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat 1 cup sugar with 2 cupfuls butter to a cream.
Beat the whites of 3 eggs to a stiff froth.
Dissolve 1 teaspoon baking soda in 2 cupfuls sweet milk.
Combine 2 cupfuls flour with 1 teaspoon cream tartar.
Stir in the beaten egg whites last.
Color and bake
Take out a little more than 2 cupfuls of the batter and add red sugar enough to color it; add a handful of seeded raisins.
Bake in a round loaf with the red part in the center.
Make the topping
Beat yolks of 3 eggs with 1 cupful sugar for 15 minutes until stiff enough to spread, then flavor with vanilla.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| 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.
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Whites trap air for lift, and yolks add richness and structure.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure once the batter is baked.
- Baking soda (in the method)
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
- Cream tartar
- Adds acidity that helps stabilize the whipped egg whites and works with the soda.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat that gives a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender texture when creamed with butter.
The step that matters
Stir in the beaten egg whites last. Beaten egg whites hold air that makes the cake light. Stirring them in gently at the end keeps that foam from collapsing, so the cake rises well instead of turning dense.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, cream, egg):
- Raisinthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Strawberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, cream, 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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