Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Oatmeal Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the dough
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix the flour, oatmeal, sugar, lard, hot water, and baking powder until well combined.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough out and cut it into small squares.
Place the squares on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the squares together.
- Oatmeal
- Absorbs liquid and adds a hearty, chewy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps the surface brown in the oven.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to limit gluten, giving a tender, crumbly texture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it heats, helping the squares rise and lighten.
The step that matters
Bake until golden brown. Sugar browns quickly at the end of baking, and continued heat dries the squares and makes them hard. Check at the early end of the 20-25 minute range so they stay tender.
“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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