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 ↓
Black Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the molasses and brandy.
In a separate bowl, combine the browned flour and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until smooth.
Fold in the mixed dried fruit and spices.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake for about 3 hours, 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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Brandy + curranttop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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 add richness and tender texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets in the oven.
- Browned flour
- Provides the structure of the cake and a deep, toasty flavor.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a rich, slightly bitter sweetness.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to help the cake rise and darken.
- Mixed dried fruit
- Adds moisture, chewiness, and concentrated sweetness throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs one at a time. Adding eggs gradually and mixing well after each lets the emulsion form properly. If eggs go in too fast, the batter can curdle and trap less air, leading to a denser cake.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar, egg, molasses, brandy, raisin):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
- Applefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar, egg, molasses, brandy, raisin. 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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