Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Wedding 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 your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the molasses and a splash of brandy.
Incorporate the seeded raisins, currants, and citron into the mixture.
Add the mixed spices and combine thoroughly.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake for about 1.5 to 2 hours, 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.
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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Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Raisin + molassestop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,768 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness, and carries flavor through the batter.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the batter brown as it bakes.
- Seeded raisins
- Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the cake.
- Currants
- Add small pockets of chewy texture and tart-sweet fruit flavor.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep flavor, and darker color to the cake.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs one at a time. Beating each egg in fully before the next keeps the creamed butter and sugar emulsified. If the mixture curdles, the batter can bake up unevenly and with a coarser crumb.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, egg, butter, sugar, coffee, molasses, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
- Applefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, egg, butter, sugar, coffee, molasses, brandy. 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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