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Dessert

Fig Cake

A layered cake made with a white batter and a dark batter of figs, spices, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Vanilla and fig match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 324 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. 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.

Make the batters

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a bowl, cream together 2 cups sugar and ⅔ cup butter.

  3. Add ½ cup milk and 3 cups flour, mixing well.

  4. Gently fold in the 8 egg whites.

  5. In another bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, ½ cup butter, and ½ cup sweet milk.

  6. Add 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1¾ cups flour, mixing thoroughly.

  7. Beat in the 7 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, and 1 teaspoon mixed spices.

Layer and bake

  1. In two long baking tins, pour the white batter evenly.

  2. In one tin, pour half of the dark batter, then layer with halved figs, ensuring they do not touch.

  3. Top with the remaining dark batter and bake until done.

Assemble and finish

  1. Once baked, layer the cakes with frosting while warm, placing the dark layers between the white layers.

  2. Dust the top with powdered sugar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Vanilla + figtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together324 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

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

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

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Milk + figtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,026 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

Flour
Forms the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.
Eggs
Add structure and richness, with the yolks adding fat and tenderness.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavour.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking so the batter rises and becomes light.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps give the crumb a tender texture.
Figs
Add moisture, sweetness and fruity flavour within the dark layer.

The step that matters

Layering the figs in the dark batter. Figs are moist and heavy, so they can sink or cause uneven texture. Keeping them apart and covering them with batter lets the batter set around each piece for a more even crumb.

Swap the fig

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

  1. Figthe original
  2. Raisinfits about as well
  3. Coconutfits about as well
  4. Blueberryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour, 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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