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Dessert

Ohooolatb Oabambl Oakb

A chocolate bake with layers of batter and caramel frosting.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Ladies' Benevolent Society, First Congregational Church (Fall River, Mass .). Ladies' Benevolent Society, Mass.) First Congregational Church (Fall River · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 19 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 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Ohooolatb Oabambl Oakb

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Combine one fourth cup butter, one cup sugar, two eggs, one half cup milk, one teaspoon baking powder with a heaping cup of flour.

  2. Melt two squares baker's chocolate over the teakettle with a little vanilla.

  3. Bake the batter in two layers.

Make the frosting

  1. For frosting, combine one heaping cup sugar with three large tablespoons hot water and boil until it threads.

  2. Pour the hot frosting over the beaten whites of two eggs.

Make the caramel frosting

  1. Combine one and one half cups sugar, one half cup butter, one half cup milk, two and one quarter cups flour, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, and the whites of six eggs.

  2. Add caramel frosting, one quarter pound baker's chocolate grated, one and one half cups sugar, one quarter cup milk, and butter the size of an egg.

  3. Boil the mixture until it sticks but is not brittle.

  4. Flavor with vanilla.

By Ladies' Benevolent Society, First Congregational Church (Fall River, Mass .). Ladies' Benevolent Society, Mass.) First Congregational Church (Fall River. 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together81,283 recipes

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

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely 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 starch structure that sets the batter into layers as it bakes.
Eggs
Add structure and richness, and the beaten whites give the mixture lift.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking so the layers rise and become light.
Butter
Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and, when boiled, sets into the frosting.
Baker's chocolate
Gives the bake its chocolate flavor and deep color.

The step that matters

Boil the mixture until it sticks but is not brittle. The sugar concentration decides how the frosting sets. Stopping too early leaves it soft and runny, while overcooking makes it hard, brittle, or grainy.

“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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