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 ↓
Wedding Cake
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.
Prepare the fruit
Stone the raisins and wash and dry the currants thoroughly.
Shred the citron and cut the figs into small pieces.
In a wooden bowl, combine the raisins, currants, citron, figs, and chopped almonds.
Sprinkle the mixture with the browned flour and rub it in thoroughly.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs and molasses.
Gradually mix in the flour, spices, brandy, and sherry.
Fold in the fruit mixture last.
Bake
Line the pans with thick buttered paper and pour in the batter.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
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 + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the oven.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add richness and tenderness.
- Dark brown sugar
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep caramel flavour.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the cake as the batter sets.
- Dark molasses
- Adds moisture, dark colour and a robust, slightly bitter sweetness.
- Raisins
- Provide chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Folding in the fruit mixture last. Heavy fruit can sink or break down the batter if overmixed. Folding gently at the end keeps the batter airy and distributes the fruit evenly through the cake.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, molasses, egg, raisin, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, molasses, egg, raisin, almond. 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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