Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. 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. 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 oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sweet milk and mix well.
Gradually add the flour and baking powder, mixing until just combined.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Layer and bake
Pour half of the batter into a greased cake pan.
Spread half of the smooth figs over the batter.
Pour the remaining batter on top and add the rest of the figs.
Bake for 30-40 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.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + figtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,026 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + figtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,192 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs whites
- Beaten whites trap air, giving the cake lift and a light, airy crumb.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure as its proteins set during baking.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds tenderness and richness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown while creaming aids a tender crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise.
- Figs
- Add moisture, sweetness and a jammy layer through the middle of the cake.
The step that matters
Fold in the egg whites gently. Beaten whites hold the air that gives the cake lift. Vigorous stirring knocks out that air, leaving a denser, flatter cake.
Swap the fig
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, flour, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figthe original
- Coconutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, flour, egg. 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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