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 ↓
English Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the sponge
Heat the milk slightly.
Stir in the flour.
Add a pinch of salt.
Add the yeast sponge.
Set the mixture to rise.
Mix the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Set the mixture aside.
When light, add the sugar and butter mixture.
Add more flour if needed to avoid stickiness.
Beat well.
Dredge the fruit in flour.
Slice the citron.
Wash and dry the currants.
Chop the raisins.
Add the fruit and nutmeg to the mixture.
Mix well.
Bake
Put the batter in a pan.
Let it rise.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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).
-
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).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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 tender, rich crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Yeast sponge
- Ferments to lighten the batter so it rises and becomes airy.
- Currants
- Dried fruit that adds chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the cake.
- Raisins
- Dried fruit that adds chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the cake.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and, creamed with butter, helps give a light texture.
The step that matters
Let the batter rise after the yeast sponge is added. Yeast needs time and warmth to ferment and raise the batter. If the batter is not allowed to become light before baking, the cake will be dense rather than airy.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, flour, raisin, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, flour, raisin, nutmeg. 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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