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Dessert

Mary Poch

A layered meringue cake with a lemon custard filling.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Paidar, Marie, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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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 ↓

Mary Poch

Ingredients

Directions

Make the cake layers

  1. Combine one-half cup butter, one-half cup sugar, yolks of four eggs, five tablespoons milk, one cup flour, and one teaspoon baking powder.

  2. Bake the batter in two layers.

  3. Spread the beaten whites of four eggs, mixed with one cup sugar, over each layer.

  4. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes.

Make the filling

  1. Combine one-half cup sugar, one cup milk, one egg, three teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in a little cold milk, and juice of one lemon.

  2. Cook the filling in a double boiler.

Assemble

  1. When the filling cools, spread it between the layers.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

845Calories
28 gProtein
26 gFat
124 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Paidar, Marie, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  5. Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, 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 structure that holds the cake layers together as they bake.
Eggs
Yolks add richness and whites beaten with sugar add airy lift and structure.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, making the layers rise and turn light.
Butter
Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and gives a rich flavor.
Cornstarch
Thickens the filling as it heats, giving it a smooth, sliceable body.
Lemon
Its juice adds acidity that brightens the sweet custard filling.

The step that matters

Cooking the filling in a double boiler. Cornstarch thickens only when heated to a gentle simmer, and direct high heat can scorch the milk or leave lumps. Gentle, steady heat with constant stirring gives a smooth, thick filling.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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