Name: Raisin Layer Cake
Ingredients: 2 cups raisins, seeded and chopped; 2 egg whites; 20 teaspoons powdered sugar; 1 egg white (for frosting); 10 heaping teaspoons powdered sugar (for frosting); 1 teaspoon cornstarch (for frosting); Flavoring (rose, pineapple, almond, lemon, or vanilla)

Why it works: Raisin and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Raisin Layer Cake

Ingredients

2 cups raisins, seeded and chopped
2 egg whites
20 teaspoons powdered sugar
1 egg white (for frosting)
10 heaping teaspoons powdered sugar (for frosting)
1 teaspoon cornstarch (for frosting)
Flavoring (rose, pineapple, almond, lemon, or vanilla)

Directions

Prepare any layer cake.
Spread chopped raisins on the layers.
For the frosting, beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gradually stir in 10 heaping teaspoons of powdered sugar and cornstarch until smooth.
Add flavoring to the frosting as desired.
If the cake has cooled, warm it in the oven before frosting.
Dust rough or brown areas with flour, then smooth off with a cloth.
Pour frosting around the center of the cake and smooth it with a knife dipped in cold water.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Raisin + rosetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together315 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Raisin + eggtop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,556 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + rosetop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,584 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).