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 ↓
Vinegar Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Grease a deep 23 cm (9 inch) round cake tin.
Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the fruit and sugar to the mixture.
Sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda into the milk.
Add the vinegar to the milk. This will froth up.
While it is still foaming, add it to the dry ingredients and mix in well.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake and cool
Bake at 200°C (400°F) mark 6 for 30 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C (325°F) mark 3.
Bake for another 1 1/2 hours or until firm to the touch.
If the top gets too brown, cover with paper.
Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes.
Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Fruit | not in our table | 0 |
| Malt | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Butter
- Rubbed into the flour to give a tender, crumbly texture.
- Plain flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Reacts with the vinegar to produce gas that lifts and aerates the cake.
- Malt vinegar
- Reacts with the bicarbonate of soda, releasing carbon dioxide for rising.
- Light soft brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crumb stay soft.
- Mixed dried fruit
- Adds sweetness, chew and flavour throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Mixing the foaming milk into the dry ingredients. The bicarbonate and vinegar react immediately to release gas. If the mixture is left to stand, the gas escapes before baking, so the cake rises less. Combine it while still foaming and mix in well.
“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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