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 ↓
Nut Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; 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 dough
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the cinnamon, flour, and baking powder until combined.
Fold in the chopped walnuts, raisins, and currants.
Shape and bake
Roll the mixture into small balls and place them on buttered baking sheets.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or 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.
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Cinnamon + walnuttop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,147 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 the cakes a tender crumb and flavour.
- Sugar
- Creams with the butter and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and moisture to the cakes.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cakes together as they bake.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cakes rise and become lighter.
- Walnuts
- Add texture and a toasty, slightly bitter note against the sweetness.
The step that matters
Creaming the butter and sugar. Beating air into softened butter with sugar creates tiny pockets that help the cakes rise and stay tender. If the butter is too cold or melted, the mixture won't aerate properly and the texture suffers.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, cinnamon, flour, walnut, raisin):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, cinnamon, flour, walnut, raisin. 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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