Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cream 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).
In a bowl, beat 3 eggs and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
Gradually add 1½ cups flour, 2 tablespoons water, and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Mix until smooth.
In another bowl, combine 2 eggs, 1 pint milk, 1 cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons flour. Mix well.
Bake and serve
Pour the first mixture into a greased baking pan, then layer the second mixture on top.
Bake for 30-35 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.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Beaten with sugar to trap air, giving the cake lift and a light, fluffy structure.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter during baking, helping the cake rise.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten and starch structure that sets the cake's crumb as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps the beaten eggs hold their air.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness to the second layer, softening the crumb as it sets.
The step that matters
Layering the two mixtures. The first batter is poured into the pan and the second mixture is layered on top as written. Keeping the layers distinct matters because the two batters differ in thickness and composition, so they set differently in the oven.
“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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