Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
Beat the butter until creamy.
Gradually add the sugar, then mix in the flour and eggs.
Beat the mixture well for at least 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Add the rose brandy or water, nutmeg or cinnamon, cream, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 45 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.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Nutmeg + creamtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Flour and butter 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into the batter to add lightness and help the cake rise.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, moisture and tenderness to the crumb.
- Butter
- Provides fat for a tender texture and rich flavor.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure as its proteins set during baking.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps keep it moist and browned.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter's acidity to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
The step that matters
Beating the batter for a long time. Prolonged beating incorporates air into the creamed butter, sugar and eggs, which gives a light, even crumb. Under-beating can leave the cake dense, while the flour should be mixed in gently enough to avoid overdeveloping gluten and toughening the texture.
“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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