Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Lemonade Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 10‑inch bundt pan.
Make and bake the batter
Combine the cake mix, lemon pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil and water. Mix until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 50–60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make the glaze and serve
Let cake cool for 10–15 minutes on a wire rack while you make the glaze.
Combine the lemonade concentrate and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Stir in additional powdered sugar until glaze reaches desired consistency.
Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake.
Dust with additional powdered sugar, if desired.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 8 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Yogurt | 170g plain Greek | 100 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Cake | not in our table | 0 |
| Pudding | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
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.
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake bakes and sets.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tenderness to the crumb and a slight tang.
- Vegetable oil
- Keeps the cake moist and tender after it cools.
- Lemon cake mix
- Provides the flour, sugar and leavening that form the cake's base structure.
- Lemonade concentrate
- Supplies tart lemon flavor and liquid for the glaze.
The step that matters
Baking until a toothpick comes out clean. Bundt cakes are dense and thick, so the centre can stay wet while the edges over-brown. Testing the centre with a toothpick confirms the starches and proteins have set before cooling.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Strawberryfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, sugar. 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.
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