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 ↓
Pecan Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the extract and egg yolks.
Beat the mixture again.
Make the batter
Alternately add the milk and flour.
Mix the batter well.
In the last half cup of flour, mix in the baking powder.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Add the chopped pecans.
Sprinkle a little flour over the pecans to prevent sticking.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased pan.
Bake for 1 hour.
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.
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).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Pecans + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,691 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + pecanstop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,416 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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 fat and richness, giving the cake a tender crumb and flavor.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and, with the whipped whites, lift and set the batter.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its starch sets during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps tenderize its crumb when creamed with butter.
- Chopped pecans
- Add crunch and nutty flavor, and their oils contribute richness to the cake.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold the air that lightens the cake. Stirring them in vigorously deflates the foam, so fold gently and only until no white streaks remain.
Swap the pecans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, egg, flour, vanilla):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Hazelnutfits about as well
- Pecansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, 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.
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