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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Add the beaten egg yolks and mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the butter mixture.
Sift in the flour and fold until just combined.
Stir in the lemon zest, 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).
-
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
- Egg yolks enrich the batter and whipped whites lighten its structure as they set in the oven.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and gives the cake a tender, rich texture.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter, it adds sweetness and helps create a fine, even crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as the batter sets.
- Almonds
- Add crunch and a nutty flavor that contrasts with the soft crumb.
The step that matters
Folding the egg whites into the butter mixture. Whipped whites trap air that gives lift; overmixing or stirring them in vigorously deflates the foam and produces a dense, heavy cake.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, flour, fig, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, flour, fig, 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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