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 ↓
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 greased parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, rub the butter into the flour.
Add the baking powder and grated lemon rind, then stir in the sliced citron.
Make the batter
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light, then mix in the milk.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and beat until well combined.
Prepare the raisins by rubbing them in a towel to remove stems and debris, then stir them into the batter quickly.
Bake and cool
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Check for doneness with a skewer before removing from the oven.
Cool the cake on a wire rack.
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.
-
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
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
- Forms the structure of the cake as the batter sets in the oven.
- Butter
- Rubbed into the flour to tenderise the crumb and add richness.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and lift as they set.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps the beaten eggs become light and airy.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter.
The step that matters
Stirring in the raisins quickly. Once the batter is mixed, extra stirring develops gluten and toughens the crumb, so the raisins should be folded in briefly and the batter baked promptly so the rising agent works well.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, raisin, milk, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, raisin, milk, egg. 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.
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.