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 ↓
Six Months' Cake
Ingredients
Directions
One and one-half cupfuls of butter, two cupfuls of sugar, one cupful of molasses, one cupful of sweet milk, four eggs, five cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, one nutmeg, two cupfuls of raisins, two cupfuls of citron. This makes two long bars.
Mrs. T. R. Morgan,
Binghamton, N. Y.
SNOW CAKE— No. 1. Three-fourths cupful of butter, two cupfuls of sugar, one cupful of milk, one-half cupful of corn starch, two and one-half cupfuls of flour, one and one- half teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Mix flour, corn starch and baking powder together; add to the butter and sugar alternately with the milk; lastly add the whites of seven eggs; flavor to taste. Never fails to be good. Mrs. Wm. Irvine.
SNOW CAKE— No. 2.
One-half teacupful of butter, one cupful of sugar.
THE GOOD CHEER COOK BOOK. 81
one and one-half cupfuls of flour, one-half cupful of sweet milk, whites of four eggs, one teaspoonful of baking powder; flavor with lemon. This is very nice baked in a loaf, cut in two and put together with boiled icing, and freshly grated cocoanut.
Mrs. H. F. Robinson.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, molasses, milk, flour, corn, egg):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, molasses, milk, flour, corn, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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