Why it works: Vanilla and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,961 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Rice 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Weigh the eggs in their shells and use the same weight in castor sugar.
Use half the weight of the eggs in all-purpose flour and ground rice.
Make the batter
Beat the eggs well, then add the sugar and beat again until combined.
Stir in the flour and ground rice until smooth.
Add the melted butter and mix well.
Add flavoring to taste.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Vanilla + almondtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Rice + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,456 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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
- Provide structure and richness as the batter sets while baking.
- Castor sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the eggs hold air when beaten.
- All-purpose flour
- Builds the cake's structure as its proteins set in the oven.
- Ground rice
- Gives the cake a tender, slightly crumbly texture.
- Unsalted butter
- Adds fat and moisture for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
The step that matters
Beat the eggs well before adding the sugar. Beating eggs incorporates air that gives the cake lift. Under-beaten eggs produce a denser cake, so the batter needs thorough beating before the sugar and flour go in.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, flour, rice, butter, almond):
- Raisinfits about as well
- Vanillathe original
- Coconutfits about as well
- Figfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, flour, rice, butter, almond. 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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