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 ↓
Austrian Marble Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Grease two small bundt pans, then sprinkle with fine breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Make the batter
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in milk.
Sift flour with baking powder, then carefully fold into the creamed mixture.
Divide batter into 2 equal portions.
Divide 1 portion between the prepared pans.
Sift cocoa and powdered sugar together and fold into the remaining portion.
Divide the chocolate portion between both pans.
Bake and serve
Lightly blend both mixtures in the pans by swirling carefully with a skewer or knife.
Bake 1 hour, then remove cakes from pans and cool on a rack.
Sift additional powdered sugar over the cooled cakes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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.
-
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 + cocoa powdertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,244 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Sugar + cocoa powdertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,920 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as the cake sets.
- All purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Adds chocolate flavor and color to the darker marble portion.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter for a softer crumb.
The step that matters
Lightly blending the two batters. Over-swirling mixes the cocoa batter fully into the plain batter, losing the marbled pattern. Light, few passes keep distinct ribbons that still bake together.
“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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