Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Oatmeal Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the eggs and mix well.
Stir in the sour cream or milk.
Mix in the baking soda, oatmeal, and flour until combined.
Fold in the chopped raisins and vanilla extract.
Bake
Spoon the batter into gem tins.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Raisin + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together782 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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 the sugar to add richness and a tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cakes set in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to lift the batter and help the cakes rise.
- Oatmeal
- Adds chewy texture and a hearty, nutty body to the cakes.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cakes together.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and acidity that activates the baking soda and tenderises the crumb.
The step that matters
Mix in the baking soda, oatmeal, and flour until combined.. Baking soda needs an acid, such as the sour cream, to release gas and lift the batter. Mixing just until combined avoids overworking the flour, which would make the cakes tough.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, cream, flour, vanilla):
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Coconutfits about as well
- Strawberryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, cream, flour, vanilla. 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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