Why it works: Chocolate and coffee are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,497 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells buttery, creamy. The science ↓
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Directions
MRS. HUGH ROBERTSON.
Whites of twelve eggs, three cups of powdered sugar, one of corn starch, one of butter, one of milk, three of flour, two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder. Icing for cake : Twelve tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate, whites of four eggs, two teaspoonfuls of vanilla, three cups of powdered sugar : put the eggs and chocolate in a bowl over a tea-kettle of boiling water. Stir till creams ; add the sugar and vanilla when you take it from the fire.
MRS. WORSTER. [
One coffee-cupful of sugar, a half coffee-cupful of butter, one fourth coffee-cupful of milk, one egg, two even teaspoon- fuls of yeast powder. After you have partially rolled them, sprinkle your bread with sugar ; also, the last time you roll them, sprinkle well with sugar. These cakes, to be good, should have just enough flour to roll out, and should be rolled very thin.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 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 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
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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Chocolate + coffeetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
More chocolate cake recipes
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