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 ↓
Orange 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the cold water.
Fold in the orange juice and grated rind.
Finish and bake
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the batter.
Pour the batter into greased jelly tins and bake for 25-30 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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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, it traps air and adds richness and a tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter to aid aeration and adds sweetness and browning.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure once the batter is set by heat.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and emulsify the batter; whipped whites lighten the crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.
- Orange juice and rind
- Add acidity and bright citrus aroma that flavour the cake.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stiff whites hold the air that lightens the cake. Stirring them vigorously deflates the foam and produces a dense cake, so fold gently until just combined.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, egg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, 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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