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 ↓
Loaf Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the batter
Cream the butter in a mixing bowl.
Gradually add the sifted flour and baking soda, mixing well.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gradually add the sugar to the beaten egg whites.
Fold the egg white mixture into the butter and flour mixture.
Add the lemon juice.
Prepare the pan and bake
Line the bottom of a cake pan with buttered paper.
Grease the sides of the cake pan.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 45 minutes or until done.
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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Butter + flourtop 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 + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Flour + lemontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,404 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
- Butter
- Creamed with the sugar-free base to add richness and a tender crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic lemon juice to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Egg whites
- Beaten to stiff peaks, they trap air that lightens the batter and helps it rise.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and stabilizes the whipped egg whites.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright flavor, and activates the baking soda.
The step that matters
Fold the egg white mixture into the batter. Folding gently keeps the air trapped in the stiff egg whites. Stirring vigorously knocks that air out, leaving a denser, less risen cake.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, egg, sugar):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, egg, sugar. 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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