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 ↓
Hickory Nut 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 the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
Fold in the chopped hickory nuts.
Bake
Pour the batter into a loaf or sponge cake tin.
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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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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Butter + flourtop 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).
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
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and help bind the batter together.
- Butter
- Adds fat and tenderness, and carries flavor through the crumb.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown and keep moisture.
- Hickory nut kernels
- Add crunch and a rich, nutty flavor throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Folding in the flour and nuts. Mixing the flour too vigorously develops gluten and can make the cake tough. Mixing only until just combined keeps the crumb tender and prevents the batter from deflating.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, milk, flour):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, milk, flour. 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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