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 ↓
A Good Cheap 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
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix the flour, raisins, sugar, eggs, and butter.
Warm the milk and dissolve the baking soda in it.
Combine the milk mixture with the dry ingredients and mix well.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake until golden.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure of the cake as its proteins and starches set when baked.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help set the crumb as they cook.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor in the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the milk to release gas that helps the cake rise.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and natural sweetness distributed through the cake.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the warm milk. Baking soda needs moisture and a little warmth to dissolve evenly; if it stays in clumps, pockets of leavening cause uneven rising and bitter spots. Mixing it fully into the milk before combining helps the cake rise evenly.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg, butter, milk):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, egg, butter, milk. 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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