Why it works: Flour and butter 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 in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter in a large bowl.
Add the flour to the creamed butter and mix well.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and add the sugar, mixing until combined.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Alternately add the egg yolk mixture and the beaten egg whites to the butter and flour mixture, mixing thoroughly.
Once fully combined, add the baking powder and extract.
Bake
Divide the batter into two pans and bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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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Flour + buttertop 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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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).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it sets.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and tender texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, creamed with butter, helps create a light, fine crumb.
- Eggs
- Whites whipped to stiff peaks add lift, while yolks add richness and structure.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises during baking.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Whites whipped to stiff peaks hold the air that lifts the cake. Mixing them in too vigorously deflates the batter, while under-mixing leaves streaks and uneven texture, so combine gently but thoroughly.
“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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