Name: Chocolate Cake
Ingredients: 2 cups flour; 2 teaspoons cream tartar; 2 squares baker's chocolate; 2 tablespoons milk; two whites

Why it works: Cream and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,466 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Make the cake

In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar, 1 small tablespoon shortening, 1 whole egg or two egg whites, 7/8 cup milk, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 2 teaspoons cream tartar. Add vanilla to taste.
Pour batter into shallow tins and bake until done.

Frost

For frosting, boil 2 tablespoons milk with powdered sugar until stiff, flavor with vanilla, and spread over the cake.
Alternatively, dissolve 2 squares baker's chocolate and spread over the cake.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

810Calories

23 gProtein

23 gFat

124 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51

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

By Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational Church. 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.

Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,466 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,128 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Cream + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Flour + chocolatetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together8,994 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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's crumb together as it bakes.
Cream tartar: Acidifies the batter and works with baking soda to help the cake rise.
Baker's chocolate: Gives the frosting its chocolate flavor and a rich, set coating over the cake.
Milk: Adds moisture to the batter and helps the frosting come 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.