Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the salt from a pound of butter, and rub it till it is soft as cream.
Have ready a pound of flour sifted, one of powdered sugar, and twelve eggs well beaten.
Make the batter
Put alternately into the butter, sugar, flour, and the froth from the eggs, continuing to beat them together till all the ingredients are in, and the cake quite light.
Add some grated lemon peel, a nutmeg, and a gill of brandy.
Bake and serve
Butter the pans, and bake them.
Bake the cake in a large mould, and eat with sugar and wine.
Boil the cake, and serve with melted butter, sugar and wine.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Brandy | 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.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Brandy + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,311 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving richness and a tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Beaten froth adds air and lift, giving the cake its light texture.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the cake's shape as it sets with heat.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness and, creamed with butter, helps give a fine, soft texture.
- Brandy
- Adds a warm, aromatic flavour to the batter.
The step that matters
Beating the batter until light. Creaming butter and sugar and beating in the eggs traps air that expands in the oven. Adding ingredients alternately and beating until smooth keeps the batter stable, so the cake rises evenly and stays light rather than dense or collapsed.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, brandy, egg, nutmeg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, brandy, egg, nutmeg. 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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