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 ↓
Citron Cake
two cakesIngredients
Directions
Make the batter
Cream together three cups of white sugar and one cup of butter.
Beat one cup of sweet milk, six eggs, whites and yolks separately.
Add one teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon extract.
Add two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
Sift the mixture with four and a half cups of flour.
Mix in one and a half cups of sliced citron, sliced thin and dredged with flour.
Bake
Divide the batter into two cakes and bake in tins lined with buttered letter paper.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 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 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Cake | 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.
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. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Milk + buttertop 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).
-
Vanilla + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- White sugar
- Sweetens the batter and, creamed with butter, helps give the cake a tender crumb.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture, and holds air when creamed.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and richness, and their beaten whites add lift.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cakes rise in the oven.
- Flour (in the method)
- Provides the structure that sets the cake's crumb as it bakes.
- Citron (in the method)
- Adds sweet, aromatic pieces of candied peel throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Dredge the citron in flour before mixing it in. Flour coating helps the citron pieces grip the batter and stay spread through the cake instead of sinking to the bottom during baking.
“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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