Why it works: White wine and sherry match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 307 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
White Fruit 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 the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the flour and baking powder to the butter mixture, mixing well.
Stir in the white wine, almonds, coconut, and citron until evenly combined.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter gently.
Bake
Pour the batter into brick pans.
Bake for about 1 hour 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.
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.
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White wine + sherrytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together307 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,083 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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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
- Egg whites
- Beaten to stiff peaks, they add lightness and airy structure to the batter.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds tenderness and richness to the crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps the butter cream to a light, fluffy texture.
- Almonds
- Add fat, moisture and nutty flavour, and a tender bite to the crumb.
The step that matters
Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter gently. Egg whites hold air only when stiff. Vigorous stirring knocks that air out, so the cake rises less and turns denser.
“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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