Why it works: Sugar and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Loaf Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Combine raised dough, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and spices in a bowl.
Mix thoroughly for at least 15 minutes.
If desired, add raisins and mix well.
Rise and bake
Pour the batter into square pans.
Cover with a thick cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
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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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + eggtop 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).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + raisintop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,630 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raised dough
- Provides the yeasted base and structure that the cake rises from.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the cake a tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure and moisture, helping the cake set as it bakes.
- Raisins
- Add chewy pockets of sweetness and moisture throughout the loaf.
The step that matters
Mix thoroughly for at least 15 minutes. Long mixing develops the dough's gluten and evenly distributes the fat, eggs and sugar, which shapes the final texture of the cake.
Swap the raisin
The recipe marks raisin as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, 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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