Name: A Pound: Cake
Ingredients: 1 pound water; 1 pound milk; 1 pound all-purpose flour, sifted; 1 pound lard, softened; 1 pound baking soda; 1 pound baking powder; 1 pound coarse sea salt; 1 pound butter, softened; 1 pound vanilla extract

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

A Pound: Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Mix the batter

In a large bowl, combine water, milk, flour, lard, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter, and vanilla extract.
Mix well with clean hands until fully combined.
Beat the mixture in a clean tub until smooth.

Prepare and bake

Preheat your ovens and prepare your pans.
If the batter rises too much, divide it into additional pans and bake separately.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,241 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,050 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

All-purpose flour: Provides the starch and gluten network that gives the cake its structure.
Butter: Adds fat that coats flour particles, giving a tender crumb and rich flavor.
Lard: Adds fat that shortens gluten strands, contributing tenderness to the crumb.
Baking powder: Releases gas during baking, helping the batter rise and become light.
Milk: Supplies liquid that hydrates the flour and adds moisture and softness.