Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. 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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Sift the flour and baking powder together, then gradually add to the butter mixture.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the batter.
Add your chosen flavoring and mix until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Vanilla + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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 sugar to trap air, giving the cake its tender, rich texture and flavor.
- Granulated sugar
- Creams with butter to aerate the batter and adds sweetness and browning.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and emulsify the batter; whipped whites add lift and structure.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as the proteins and starches bake.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven to help the cake rise.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites beaten to stiff peaks hold air that gives lift. Stirring them vigorously or overmixing after the flour goes in deflates that air and produces a dense cake, so fold gently until just combined.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla):
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Blueberryfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, egg, 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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