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 ↓
Confectioners' 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. 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
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gradually fold the beaten egg whites into the creamed mixture.
Sift the flour and baking powder together, then fold into the batter.
Add mace or nutmeg to taste and mix gently.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes 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.
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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Egg + flourtop 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).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Yolks add richness and moisture, while whipped whites add lift and structure.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, aerated creamed base.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air only while whipped, so folding gently keeps the batter light. Stirring vigorously knocks out the air and leaves a dense cake.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, flour. 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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