Name: Strawberry Shortcake I
Ingredients: 1 cup sugar; 4 tablespoons melted butter; 1 cup sweet milk; 2 teaspoons cream tartar; 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 3 cups of flour mix 3 teaspoons baking powder; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 3 tablespoons butter; a pinch of salt; a cup of sugar; 1 egg; two layers in a quick oven; 1 egg beaten; one cake; six people; 1/4 tea- spoon salt; two sections; 2 qts; salt

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 ↓

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.

Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Milk + teatop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together738 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, 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's crumb together.
Egg: Adds structure and richness, helping bind the batter.
Butter: Adds tenderness and richness to the crumb.
Sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps the top brown.
Cream tartar: Adds acidity that works with the leavening to help the cake rise.
Strawberries (in the method): Add fruity sweetness and juice between and on top of the layers.

The step that matters

Do not assemble the layers until serving time. Fruit juice soaks into the soft sponge over time, so layers assembled early turn soggy and lose their texture.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
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
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Cake	not in our table	0

Strawberry Shortcake I