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
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 batter
Cream the butter by hand.
Sift the flour with salt and baking powder three times.
Add the sifted flour to the creamed butter and stir until light.
Add the sugar and flavoring.
Stir for several minutes until it resembles whipped cream.
Add the eggs (unbeaten).
Beat for an additional two minutes.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 40 minutes.
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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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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).
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 its rich, tender crumb.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping bind the batter and set during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise in the oven.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps trap air when creamed with the butter.
The step that matters
Stirring the creamed butter and sugar until it resembles whipped cream. This step traps air that gives the cake lift. Stirring too little leaves the batter dense, while the added eggs should go in unbeaten so the batter is not overworked.
“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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