Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Cream the butter.
Add sugar gradually, and continue beating.
Add yolks of eggs beaten until thick and lemon-colored.
Add whites of eggs beaten until stiff and dry.
Add flour, mace, and brandy.
Beat vigorously five minutes.
Bake
Bake in a deep pan one and one-fourth hours in a slow oven.
Or if to be used for fancy ornamented cakes, bake thirty to thirty-five minutes in a dripping-pan.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Mace | not in our table | 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.
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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 give the cake a rich, tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps hold air when beaten into the creamed butter.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, color, and emulsifying fat that gives a smooth, tender batter.
- Egg whites
- Beaten stiff to lighten the batter and give the cake its rise and open texture.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets as the cake bakes.
The step that matters
Adding the whites of eggs. Whites must be beaten until stiff and dry, then folded in gently. Overbeating or deflating them removes the air that lifts the cake, leaving a dense result.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, brandy):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Capersfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, brandy. 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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