Why it works: Vanilla and fig match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 324 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Fig Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the cake batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the milk, egg, and egg yolk, and mix well.
Stir in the baking powder, vanilla, and flour until combined.
Bake and make the filling
Divide the batter into two greased cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
For the filling, combine the chopped figs, ½ cup sugar, and water in a saucepan.
Cook until thickened, then stir in the beaten egg white and cook for 1 more minute.
Assemble
Spread the fig filling between the layers and top with orange and lemon frosting.
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.
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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Vanilla + figtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together324 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + figtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,026 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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
- Creams with the sugar to add fat and tenderness to the crumb.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Egg white
- Thickens the fig filling as it cooks and gives it body.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as the batter sets.
- Figs
- Provide sweetness, moisture and flavour to the filling.
The step that matters
Cook the fig filling until thickened, then add the egg white. Egg white must be heated enough to set and thicken the filling, but overcooking can make it grainy or cause it to scramble. Cooking the fig mixture first lets it thicken evenly before the egg white is added.
Swap the fig
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, milk, vanilla, flour):
- Figthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Coconutfits about as well
- Blueberryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, milk, vanilla, flour. 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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