Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Gateau Au Beurre, or Solilemne
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 sponge
Sift ¾ pound of flour.
Set aside ¼ pound of flour.
In the center of the reserved flour, add 3 teaspoons of yeast and a little lukewarm cream.
Dilute and gradually mix in the flour.
Work the mixture for a few minutes until soft.
Pour the mixture into a small saucepan.
Let it rise until doubled in size.
Make the dough
On a board, place the remaining flour.
Add 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 ounce of powdered sugar, 4 egg yolks, 5 ounces of lukewarm butter, and ½ cup of lukewarm cream.
Mix until it resembles soft paste.
Beat the mixture with your hand for a few minutes.
Add the risen sponge.
Work the dough until soft and elastic.
Shape and bake
Transfer the dough to a buttered 6-inch diameter mold.
Let it rise until nearly doubled in size.
Lightly egg the top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
Cut the cake horizontally.
Turn the top upside down for a bee-hive appearance.
Sprinkle lightly with a pinch of fine salt.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the risen crumb together as the cake bakes.
- Yeast
- Produces gas that lifts the sponge and dough, giving the cake its rise and airy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and gives a rich, smooth mouthfeel.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, structure and golden colour to the crumb.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the dough and helps the top brown during baking.
- Lukewarm cream
- Adds moisture and helps form a soft, elastic dough.
The step that matters
Let the sponge rise until doubled in size. Yeast needs time and mild warmth to build gas that the gluten network traps. Underproofed dough stays dense, while overproofed dough can collapse and lose its airy structure.
“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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