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 ↓
Custard Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter and custard
Combine two cups sugar, six tablespoons melted butter, six eggs beaten separately, two and one-half cups flour, one-half cup milk, one teaspoon soda, and two teaspoons cream tartar to form batter.
Mix one-half pint milk and two eggs, sweeten to taste, and flavor with vanilla to make custard.
Bake and assemble
Bake the batter on pie plates.
Place custard between cake layers to create a jelly cake.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| 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.
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. See the original page.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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 layers together as they set.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and set as the batter bakes.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Supplies acidity that works with the soda to lift the batter and help it rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown during baking.
The step that matters
Bake the batter promptly after mixing. Baking soda and cream of tartar start producing gas as soon as they are wet and acidic. Baking soon after mixing keeps that gas in the batter, so the layers rise well instead of falling flat.
“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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