Why it works: Flour and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Irish Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.
Gradually beat in the sugar until well combined.
Add the yolks of the eggs and beat for about 20 minutes.
Dredge in the flour gradually, mixing for another 20 minutes.
Add the fruit and nuts
Fold in the sliced almonds, candied peel, and currants.
Stir in the brandy and gently fold in the whisked egg whites.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a round buttered tin.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 1.5 to 2 hours.
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 + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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
- Creams with the sugar to trap air and give the cake a rich, tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and bind the batter; whisked whites add lift and a lighter structure.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a fine, even texture when creamed with butter.
- Currants
- Add sweetness and chewy fruit pieces throughout the cake.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour to the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whisked whites hold air that gives the cake lift. Folding gently keeps that air in; stirring hard deflates the batter and leaves a denser cake.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, almond, brandy):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, almond, 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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