Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Walnut Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together until light.
Add the eggs, beating until very light.
Alternately add the milk and flour, beating continuously.
Reserve a little flour for the baking powder, then add it along with the walnut meats.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 45 minutes.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Walnut + vanillatop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,730 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and help bind the batter as they are beaten in.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake once combined with the liquid and eggs.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes airy.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter so it bakes evenly and softly.
- Walnut meats
- Add crunch and a nutty flavour that contrasts with the soft crumb.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs until very light. Well-beaten eggs trap air that helps leaven the batter. Under-beating leaves a dense cake, while the flour should be folded in gently once the batter is set up so it does not toughen.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, flour, meat, egg, vanilla):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Pecansfits about as well
- Walnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, flour, meat, 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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