Why it works: Flour and caraway match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,435 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Seed-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.
Make the batter
Beat the butter until creamy.
Add flour, powdered sugar, caraway seeds, brandy, orange peel, egg whites, egg yolks, and baking ammonia.
Mix until well combined.
Bake
Divide the mixture into three portions and pour into cake pans.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 1.5 hours.
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 + carawaytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,435 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Caraway + orangetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together158 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Brandy + orangetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,706 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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 give the cake a rich, tender crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Egg whites
- Whipped air and protein add lift and set the crumb as it bakes.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, fat and moisture, and help bind the batter.
- Baking ammonia
- Releases gas as it breaks down, leavening the cake for a light texture.
The step that matters
Bake slowly at 300°F (150°C). A slow oven lets the large, egg-rich batter cook through and set evenly without browning or drying the outside too quickly.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar, caraway, brandy, egg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar, caraway, brandy, egg. 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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