Why it works: Raisin and flour 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 ↓
Bread 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.
Mix
In a large bowl, combine the bread dough, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, baking powder, nutmeg, and raisins.
Mix with your hands until well combined, adding more flour if necessary.
Rise and bake
Place the mixture in a baking pan and let it rise until light.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 40 to 60 minutes.
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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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Light bread dough
- Provides the yeasted structure and airy crumb the cake rises into.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter set as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to lift the mixture further.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps form a soft, even crumb.
The step that matters
Let the mixture rise until light. Rising develops the airy texture of the bread-based dough before baking. Under-proofing leaves a dense cake, while over-proofing can cause it to collapse or turn coarse in the oven.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, sugar, butter, milk, egg, raisin, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Capersfits less well
- Allspicefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, sugar, butter, milk, egg, raisin, flour. 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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