Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a steady oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the remaining 4 eggs two at a time, beating for 5 minutes between each addition.
Sift the flour with the baking powder and gradually add it to the mixture.
Stir in the rose water and nutmeg until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a paper-lined cake tin.
Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick 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.
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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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rose + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 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 give the cake a tender, rich texture.
- Eggs
- Provide structure as they set, and add richness and moisture to the crumb.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake once baked.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the heat, helping the cake rise and become light.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps trap air when creamed with butter.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs. Adding eggs too quickly can make the batter curdle or separate, because the emulsion breaks. Adding them one or two at a time and beating well between additions keeps the batter smooth so the cake rises evenly.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, rose):
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Capersfits less well
- Allspicefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, rose. 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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