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 ↓
Imperial 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice, and grated nutmeg.
Fold and bake
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter gently.
Gradually add the flour, almonds, citron, and raisins, mixing until just combined.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and smooth the top.
Bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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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Almond + raisintop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Almond + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,115 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and emulsify the batter, while beaten whites add air that lifts the cake.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets as the cake bakes and holds the fruit and nuts in place.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps create a light, fluffy batter.
- Blanched almonds
- Add body, a tender texture, and nutty flavor to the crumb.
- Raisins
- Add moisture and concentrated sweetness as they soften during baking.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stiff whites hold the air that lifts the batter. Folding gently keeps that air in; vigorous stirring deflates it and produces a denser cake.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, butter, almond, raisin, nutmeg, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, butter, almond, raisin, nutmeg, 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.
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