Why it works: Butter and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,083 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. 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.
Prepare the batter
Sift the flour into a bowl.
In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Beat the eggs in a separate bowl until light.
Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating with the flour.
Stir in the lemon extract, wine, and brandy.
Mix everything well and pour into a deep tin pan with straight sides.
Bake and finish
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 2 to 3 hours.
Once baked, allow to cool and then ice the cake.
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.
-
Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,083 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
White wine + brandytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together620 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Lemon + white winetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour and butter 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 sugar to trap air and give a rich, tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, creamy structure when beaten with butter.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and richness, and help the batter rise and set as it bakes.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as the proteins set during baking.
- White wine
- Adds moisture and a subtle acidity that brightens the flavor.
The step that matters
Gradually adding the eggs. Adding eggs slowly, alternating with flour, lets the emulsion hold so the batter does not curdle or separate. A curdled batter bakes up coarse and dense.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, egg, white wine, brandy):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, egg, white wine, 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.
More pound cake recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Brandy Peaches68 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.