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 moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter until very light.
Gradually add the sugar, beating constantly.
Add the well-beaten yolks of the eggs, brandy, and mace.
Fold in the stiffly-beaten egg whites and flour.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased pan.
Bake for about 1 hour in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Egg + flourtop 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).
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 sugar to trap air, giving the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps hold air when creamed with the butter.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and emulsify the batter; whites, whipped stiff, lift the cake.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Brandy
- Adds moisture and aroma to the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites and flour. Whipped whites hold the air that lifts the cake. Folding gently keeps that air in; overmixing deflates the batter and produces a dense, heavy cake.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, brandy, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Capersfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, brandy, flour. 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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