Why it works: Vanilla and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,943 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Sponge 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until creamy.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Sift together the corn starch, flour, and baking powder.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the yolk mixture.
Add the water and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
Finally, fold in the beaten egg whites carefully.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
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 + corntop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + vanillatop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together27,347 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour, corn):
- Raisinfits better
- Avocadofits about as well
- Vanillathe original
- Coconutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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