Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Tennis Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Gradually add the flour, moistening with the yolks and stiffly beaten whites of the eggs.
Stir in the cornflour and then add the fruit.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a cake tin lined with thick paper, without greasing.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 10 minutes.
Lower the temperature and continue baking until done, testing with a skewer.
Once the skewer comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven.
Ice and decorate
Ensure the sultanas are cleaned and dried, cherries are halved, and peel is finely minced before adding.
Once cool, top with almond icing made from 6 oz ground almonds, 8 oz castor sugar, 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, and a few drops of almond essence.
Place the cake in a warm oven until the icing sets, then decorate with green sugar or finely chopped pistachio kernels.
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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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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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Adds fat and richness, giving a tender, moist crumb.
- Eggs
- Yolks add moisture and richness, while whipped whites lighten and give structure.
- Coomb's flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Cornflour
- Lowers the gluten content, producing a finer, more tender crumb.
- Castor sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a soft, tender texture when creamed with butter.
- Sultanas
- Add sweetness and chewy pieces of fruit throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Lowering the oven temperature after the first bake. The initial high heat sets the outside and starts the rise. Lowering the heat then lets the centre cook through without over-browning or drying the crumb, so the skewer test is needed to judge doneness.
“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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