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 ↓
Nut Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening.
Add the chopped raisins, minced meat, and nuts, mixing well.
Stir in the sour milk and spices to taste.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda, then gradually add to the wet mixture.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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.
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + nutstop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together490 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + nutstop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,180 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture and tenderness.
- Shortening
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add a tender texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender crumb when creamed with fat.
- Nuts
- Add crunch and body to the crumb.
The step that matters
Adding the flour and baking soda. Baking soda needs acid from the sour milk to release gas, so it should be folded into the batter promptly and gently. Overmixing after the flour goes in develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense.
Swap the nuts
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, raisin, meat, milk):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Pistachiofits about as well
- Nutsthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, raisin, meat, milk. 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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