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 ↓
Spice Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Gather all ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, raisins, currants, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon.
Make the batter
Rub the butter and sugar together until a light white cream forms.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating a few minutes between each addition.
Add the sifted flour, baking powder, milk, fruit, and extracts, mixing into a smooth, rather firm batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into a paper-lined cake tin and bake in a steady oven for 30 minutes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 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 |
| 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.
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.
-
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, and adds richness and tenderness to the crumb.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter to help build a light texture, and adds sweetness.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and moisture as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake's crumb once baked.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter to a smooth consistency.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs one at a time. Eggs added too quickly can fail to emulsify into the butter and sugar, causing the batter to curdle. Beating between additions lets each egg blend fully, keeping the batter smooth and airy.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, milk, raisin, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Capersfits less well
- Jalapenofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, milk, raisin, 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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