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 ↓
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Stir in the whipped egg whites, then add the beaten egg yolks and mix until smooth and light.
Add the milk and mix well.
Sift the flour with the baking powder three times.
Knead all ingredients together to form a smooth dough.
Bake and finish
Pour the mixture into jelly cake tins to a thickness of ½ inch.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C).
Frost with chocolate icing once cooled.
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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Butter + flourtop 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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the creamed butter hold air for a lighter crumb.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavour.
- Egg whites
- Whipped, they trap air that lightens the batter and helps it rise.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, causing the cake to rise.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, colour and emulsifying fat that helps smooth the batter.
The step that matters
Knead all ingredients together to form a smooth dough.. Kneading develops gluten, which makes a cake tough and dense. Batter should be mixed only until combined so the cake stays tender and light.
“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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