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 ↓
Sultana 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line a cake tin with a thick layer of paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder together.
Chop the mixed peel and clean the sultanas, removing all stalks.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the flour and sultanas until thoroughly combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven for 1.5 to 2 hours.
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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Flour + eggtop 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).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Creams with sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender, rich texture.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter to aid aeration and adds sweetness and browning.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as the eggs and heat firm the batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter to help the cake rise in the oven.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure, richness and moisture as they set.
- Sultanas
- Add moisture and concentrated sweetness in every bite.
The step that matters
Beat in the eggs one at a time. Adding eggs gradually lets the creamed butter and sugar emulsify and hold air. Adding them too fast can curdle the batter, which weakens the rise and produces a coarser, heavier crumb.
“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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