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 fierce oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Beat the butter until creamy.
Add the sugar and mix well.
Incorporate the flour and salt.
Add the whisked egg yolks and mix thoroughly.
Fold in the egg whites gently.
Stir in the wine, brandy, or rose-water.
Bake and cool
Pour the mixture into a buttered and lined cake tin.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Check doneness with a skewer; it should come out clean.
Turn the cake out onto its side or an upside-down sieve to cool.
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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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Orange + winetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,046 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + flourtop 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).
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
- Fresh butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake its tender, rich crumb.
- Fine sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, beaten with butter, helps hold air for lift and softness.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that sets as the cake bakes and holds its shape.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and emulsify the batter; whites, folded in, add lightness and structure.
- Wine, brandy, or rose-water
- Adds aroma and flavour and a little moisture to the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites gently. Egg whites hold air bubbles that give lift. Vigorous stirring knocks that air out, leaving a denser cake after baking.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, egg, wine):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, egg, wine. 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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