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 ↓
Scotch Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
In a large bowl, rub the butter with your hands.
Sift the flour, sugar, and baking soda into the bowl.
Mix with your hands until it forms a dough.
Shape and bake
Prepare a pan with buttered parchment paper.
Place the dough on the paper and press to your desired thickness.
Prick the top with a fork.
Bake for about 20 minutes in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C).
Cut into squares while hot, directly after removing from the oven.
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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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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 that makes the dough rich and tender as it bakes.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during baking.
- Baking soda
- Helps the cake rise slightly and promotes browning.
The step that matters
Cut into squares while hot, directly after removing from the oven.. The cake firms as it cools, so cutting it hot keeps the pieces clean and prevents cracking or crumbling.
“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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