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Hummingbird Cake

"Impress your friends with this Hummingbird Cake - a recipe that has been passed down through many generations. If desired, crush additional nuts and press them into the sides of the frosting, and put sliced maraschino cherries on top of the cake to "guild the lily.""

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 13 ingredients
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Hummingbird Cake

Why it works: Pineapple and banana match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 733 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Hummingbird Cake

2 - 9 inch cake pans

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1127Calories
24 gProtein
45 gFat
160 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Banana1 medium (118g)105
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Black Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Pineapple + bananatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together733 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Canola oil + walnuttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together95 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  3. Walnut + cream cheesetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together439 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Pineapple + cream cheesetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together250 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Banana + walnuttop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together508 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, canola oil, egg, banana, walnut, cream cheese):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Blueberryfits better
  4. Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, canola oil, egg, banana, walnut, cream cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.