Why it works: Cardamom and rhubarb work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 35 recipes mention both. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 8Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with a little of the butter.
Toss the sliced strawberries and rhubarb with 2 Tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl and let them sit for 15 minutes.
Whisk the all-purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt and freshly ground cardamom together in a bowl.
Beat the remaining butter with 1 cup of sugar for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
Mix in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with flour, stirring only until combined.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Scatter the fruit mixture over the top and press it in lightly.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden, the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely before slicing.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Cardamom + rhubarbtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together35 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Milk + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together19,175 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Almond + rhubarbtop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together117 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Cardamom + almondtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together457 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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