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 ↓
Old Southern Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Cream butter, sugar, and Crisco.
Add flour and baking powder a little at a time, alternating with the milk. Add flavoring.
Bake
Pour into tube pan (12 cup size) or 2 loaf pans, 5 x 9.
Put in cold oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes (tube pan) or 1 hour (loaf pans).
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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 pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender crumb through fat and flavor.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and help the batter rise and set as it bakes.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the cake's shape as it bakes.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender, lightly browned crust.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to lift the batter and give a lighter texture.
The step that matters
Put in cold oven. The recipe places the pan in a cold oven rather than preheating, so the oven heats gradually along with the batter. Follow the stated timing for the pan you use, since a tube pan needs about 10 minutes longer than loaf pans.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour, vanilla):
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour, vanilla. 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.
More pound cake recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.