Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Dover Corn Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Sift the cornmeal, salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder together.
Rub in the butter and lard until well combined.
Gradually stir in the milk.
Beat the eggs well and add them to the mixture.
Mix everything together for 4 to 5 minutes.
Bake
Pour the batter into a buttered cake pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 to 35 minutes.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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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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
- Cornmeal
- Provides the main body and the coarse, grainy texture of the cake.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds structure so the cake holds its shape as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavour.
- Lard
- Adds fat that keeps the crumb tender and moist.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping bind the batter as it sets.
The step that matters
Mix everything together for 4 to 5 minutes. Mixing develops gluten in the flour, which gives a firmer, chewier crumb. Mixing too little leaves the batter unevenly combined, while mixing too long can make the cake tough.
“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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