Washington Cake

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.

1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together43,450 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

4. Milk + appletop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,104 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 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

Butter

Creams with the sugar to add fat and tenderness to the crumb.

Egg

Binds the batter and adds structure and moisture as it sets in the oven.

Flour

Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.

Baking soda

Reacts with the cream of tartar and acid in the batter to produce lift.

Cream of tartar

Acts with the baking soda to help the cake rise and gives a slightly tangy note.

Sugar

Sweetens the cake and helps it brown and stay moist.

The step that matters

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, butter, milk, cream, flour, lemon):

1. Vanillafits better
2. Raisinfits better
3. Figfits better
4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, butter, milk, cream, flour, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.