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Dessert

Rich Cake

A moist currant and almond cake flavored with spices and brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Rich Cake

Why it works: Almond and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Rich Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Wash and rub the currants, then place them near the fire to dry.

  2. Dry and sift the flour.

Make the batter

  1. Cream the butter in a large bowl.

  2. Add the sugar to the butter and mix well.

  3. Incorporate the beaten almonds into the mixture.

  4. Add the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.

  5. Stir in the brandy and spices.

  6. Gradually add the flour while mixing.

  7. Fold in the currants and mix well.

Bake

  1. Transfer the mixture to a buttered tin.

  2. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 4 hours.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,514 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,673 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Mace + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  5. Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together30,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Currants
Provide the fruit body and chewy pockets of sweetness throughout the cake.
All-purpose flour
Forms the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, contributing to a tender crumb.
Blanched and beaten almonds
Add body, moisture and nutty flavour to the crumb.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.
Sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps it brown during baking.

The step that matters

Gradually add the flour while mixing. Adding flour in portions and mixing only until combined keeps the batter smooth and prevents lumps. Overmixing once flour is in develops gluten, which can make the cake dense and tough.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (currant, flour, butter, almond, egg, sugar, cinnamon):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Allspicefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against currant, flour, butter, almond, egg, sugar, cinnamon. 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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