Why it works: Currant and allspice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,359 recipes. Both carry ethyl benzoate, which smells fruity, sweet. The science ↓
Plain Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Rub the clarified dripping into the flour until no lumps remain.
Clean the currants by rubbing them in a cloth, then add to the flour.
Stir in the allspice and brown sugar.
Pour in the milk and mix until well combined.
Grease a half-quart tin with dripping.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into the greased tin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
Remove the tin from the oven and turn the cake out to cool on its side.
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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Currant + allspicetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,359 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet).
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Flour + allspicetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,302 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Currant + milktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as the batter sets in the oven.
- Clarified dripping
- Rubbed into the flour to add richness and a tender, crumbly texture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour so the batter comes together.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and a molasses note, and helps browning in the crust.
- Currants
- Add concentrated fruit sweetness and chewy pockets throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Rub the dripping into the flour until no lumps remain. Fat coating the flour particles limits gluten formation and keeps the crumb tender. Unrubbed lumps of fat leave greasy pockets and uneven texture.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, allspice, sugar, milk):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, allspice, sugar, milk. 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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