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 ↓
Composition 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. The book gives no cooking times; 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) and grease your baking pans.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat the eggs and add them to the butter and sugar mixture.
Stir in the grated nutmeg, brandy, and dissolved baking soda.
Fold in the flour gradually until well combined.
Finally, add the seeded raisins and mix until evenly distributed.
Bake
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 30-40 minutes, 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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Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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).
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, giving a light, tender crumb and rich flavour.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter for structure and adds sweetness and browning.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter to help it rise and lighten the crumb.
- Raisins
- Add chewy pockets of fruit sweetness distributed through the cake.
The step that matters
Fold in the flour gradually. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense. Mixing just until combined keeps the crumb tender.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, egg, milk, brandy, raisin):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Clovefits less well
- Allspicefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, egg, milk, 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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