Why it works: Brandy and currant are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Small Pound Cakes
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 batter
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and whites together until thick.
Add the egg mixture to the butter and sugar, mixing well.
Gradually stir in the flour until fully combined.
Add the brandy and beat the mixture for several minutes.
If desired, fold in washed and floured dried currants.
Bake
Butter small round pans and fill them halfway to allow for rising.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.
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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Brandy + curranttop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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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).
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 adds richness and a tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and moisture, and help the cake set as it bakes.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the cake its body once baked.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, fluffy batter when creamed.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour to the batter.
The step that matters
Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Creaming beats air into the fat and sugar, which gives the batter lift. If the mixture is under-beaten or the butter is too cold, the cake can turn out dense.
Swap the currant
The recipe marks currant as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, egg, brandy):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, egg, brandy. 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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