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 ↓
French Sandwich
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Add the egg yolks and flour, mixing well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture.
Layer and bake
Grease a baking tin and spread a thin layer of the batter on the bottom.
Mix the raisins, currants, figs, and citron, then spread this mixture over the batter.
Pour the remaining batter over the fruit mixture, ensuring the larger portion is on top.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden.
Cool and serve
Let the cake cool in the tin for 24 hours before removing.
Cut into squares to serve.
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.
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 + figtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together737 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Currant + figtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together276 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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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
- Creams with sugar to trap air and add richness and tenderness to the crumb.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and binding; whipped whites lighten the batter and help it rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it sets in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a fine, tender texture when creamed with butter.
- Raisins
- Add chewy sweetness and moisture throughout the fruit layer.
- Currants
- Add tart, concentrated fruit flavour and moisture to the fruit layer.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Stiff whites hold air that lightens the batter; overmixing or deflating them during folding makes the cake dense and less able to rise.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, egg, raisin, fig):
- Vanillafits better
- Datesfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, egg, raisin, fig. 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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