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 ↓
Pound 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.
Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Add the beaten egg yolks and mix for 10 more minutes.
Stir in the flour until stiff and smooth.
Add the brandy and the beaten egg whites, mixing until smooth.
Beat the mixture for at least 30 minutes for a lighter cake.
Pour into a round baking tin with a tube in the center.
Bake
Bake for 1 hour, starting with moderate heat for the first 15 minutes, then increase the heat.
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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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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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).
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
- Adds richness and tenderness, and holds air when beaten with sugar.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps trap air when creamed with butter.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake's crumb as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and whipped whites help the cake rise and lighten.
- Brandy
- Adds a distinct aroma and flavor to the finished cake.
The step that matters
Beating after the flour goes in. Once flour is added, long mixing develops gluten, which can toughen the crumb. Air trapped by beating in the butter, sugar and eggs is what lightens the cake, so the batter should be smooth without being overworked.
“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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