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 ↓
Orange Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a cool oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the egg yolks and mix well.
In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with water.
Stir in the orange juice, grated rind, and pulp.
Bake and finish
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Use the reserved egg whites to make frosting for the top.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 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
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich the batter and whites, whipped to stiff peaks, lighten the cake's texture.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender texture when creamed with butter.
- Orange
- Adds acidity and citrus aroma from the juice, rind, and pulp.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites whipped to stiff peaks trap air that makes the cake light. Stirring them in vigorously knocks out that air, so fold gently until just combined.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, butter, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, butter, flour. 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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