Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Four cups of brown sugar; 1 cup of butter; 1 cup of sour milk; 4 cups of flour; 1 cup of grated chocolate; 1 cup of hot water to dissolve chocolate; 4 eggs; 2 teaspoons of soda; 2 teaspoons of baking powder. This quantity makes 2 large cakes. Mrs. A. A. Stanley.
24 THE USEFUL COOK BOOK'
Melt one-quarter oake of Baker's ohoeolate with half cup of sugar, half cup of sweet milk and 1 egg. Boil, stirring ooiDBtantly. When cool add 3 tablespoonfuls of vanilla.
One cup of sugar ; half cup of butter ; 1 egg and yolk of another ; 2 cups of flour; 1 teaspoon of soda. Stir both mixtuTes together. Bake in moderate oven. Over-baking makes it dry.
Mks. Hattie Cahpentek.
Half cup of grated chocolate; half cup of sweet milk; yolk 1 egg. Boil until thick and then add 1 tablespoon of butter; 1 cup of sugar; half cup of milk ; 2 cups of flour ; 1 teaspoon of soda ; 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar. Flavor with vanilla. Mks. McWhortek.
CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE. Two squares grated chocolate; yolk 1 egg; half cup of sugar; half cup of sweet milk. Boil until thick. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; 1 cup of sugar; half cup of sweet milk; half cup of butter; 1 egg; 2 cups of flour ; 1 teaspoon of soda in milk. Stir the two together, bake in loaf or layers. Use the white of egg remaining from cake for boiled frosting.
Mes. a. E. Congdon.
Half cup of Baker's chocolate; half cup of sweet milk; yolk 1 egg. Stir all, then heat, not boil ; remove from stove and add a piece of butiser size of a walnut, and 1 teaspoon of soda. Cool somewhat and add half cup of sweet milk, 1 cup of sugar, vanilla, iy2 cups of flour. Use white of egg for frosting. Mes. Feank Starkins.
Two cups of sugar; half cup of butter; 1 cup of milk; 31/^ cups of flou]' ; 2 eggs ; 1 teaspoon of soda ; 2 teaspoons of cream tartar : half cup of grated chocolate; 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Cream butter and sugar to- gether, then add eggs. Sift cream tartar with flour, dissolve soda in the milk and stir alternately with the flour. Add the half cup of chocolate and vanilla. Mrs. E. E. Woolsey.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Sour Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| 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 |
| Walnut | 1 walnut half (4g) | 26 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Cake | not in our table | 0 |
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
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
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, flour, chocolate, vanilla, cream):
- Almondfits better
- Hazelnutfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Walnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, flour, chocolate, vanilla, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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