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 ↓
Quick Coffee 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).
Make the dough
Mix and sift the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Rub in the butter until well combined.
Add the sugar and mix to form a light, soft dough with the beaten egg and milk.
Gently fold in the floured raisins or currants.
Bake
Turn the mixture into a large shallow biscuit pan.
Sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it sets in the oven.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness, helping bind the dough and set during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, lifting the cake so it rises and stays light.
- Butter or lard
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to hydrate the flour and form a soft dough.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown lightly in the oven.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the floured raisins or currants. Overmixing once the dough is formed develops gluten and toughens the cake, so the fruit should be folded in just until evenly distributed.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg, milk, butter):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, egg, milk, butter. 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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