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 ↓
Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
In a bowl, mix the flour and cream of tartar.
In another bowl, cream the Cottolene and sugar together.
Mix the sultanas and currants into the flour mixture.
Make the batter
Add the spices and egg yolks to the creamed mixture.
Stir in the warm molasses and strong coffee.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients while beating.
Fold in the beaten egg whites until just combined.
Pour the batter into a cake tin lined with greased paper.
Bake
Bake for 1.5 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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
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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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter, helping the baking soda react and lighten the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic ingredients to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Eggs
- Add structure and lift; beaten whites trap air that gives the cake volume.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color and rich, sweet flavor.
- Cottolene (or vegetable shortening)
- Fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor through the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Whites hold air only if they are beaten to the right stage and folded gently. Overmixing deflates them, which leaves a denser cake with less rise.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, cream, sugar, molasses, raisin, coffee, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangefits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, cream, sugar, molasses, raisin, coffee, 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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