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 ↓
Washington Cake
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 the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream.
Stir in the brandy or wine and mix until well combined.
Fold in the raisins.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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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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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Brandy + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,768 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the heavy batter together as it bakes.
- Unsalted butter
- Creams with sugar to trap air and adds richness and tender texture.
- Granulated sugar
- Creams with butter to aerate the batter and adds sweetness and browning.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure, moisture and richness as they set.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and acidity that tenderizes the crumb and activates the baking soda.
The step that matters
Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Adding flour in portions alongside the liquid keeps the batter smooth and emulsified and limits gluten development, so the cake stays tender rather than tough.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, egg, brandy, cream):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Apricotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, egg, brandy, cream. 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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