Why it works: Fig and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 519 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Pound 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.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Add the egg yolks and mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to a stiff froth.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the butter mixture.
Gradually add the flour and mix until just combined.
If desired, fold in the sliced figs and almonds.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Fig + almondtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together519 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Lemon + almondtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Lemon + figtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together763 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and bind the batter, while whites beaten to a froth add lift and an airy crumb.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and a tender texture.
- Sugar
- Creaming with butter builds air pockets and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- Flour
- Its proteins set during baking, giving the cake its structure.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stirring instead of folding knocks out the air whipped into the whites, so the cake rises less and turns dense. Fold gently, only until no white streaks remain.
Swap the fig
The recipe marks fig as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, flour, lemon, almond):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figthe original
- Blueberryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, flour, lemon, almond. 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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