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Dessert

Butter Sandwich

A simple butter cake made with flour, baking powder, milk, sugar, eggs, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Margaret · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓

Butter Sandwich

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the batter

  1. Combine 4 lb. flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

  2. In a separate bowl, combine 3 oz butter and 1 wineglassful milk.

  3. Add 4 oz sugar and 2 eggs.

  4. Cream butter; add sugar; then beat in eggs one at a time.

Add flour and bake

  1. Add half of the flour and a little milk; then add more flour and milk by degrees.

  2. Bake in a moderate oven in 2 tins.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

835Calories
28 gProtein
31 gFat
108 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51

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

By Hamilton, Margaret. 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.

  1. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,399 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour (in the method)
Forms the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.
Butter
Creamed with sugar to trap air and give a tender, rich crumb.
Eggs
Add structure and richness, and help bind the batter.
Milk
Adds moisture and loosens the batter so it spreads evenly.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise in the oven.
Sugar (in the method)
Adds sweetness and helps the creamed butter hold air for a softer texture.

The step that matters

Adding the eggs one at a time. Beating eggs in gradually lets the butter and sugar emulsify into a smooth mixture. Adding them all at once can cause curdling, which can make the cake dense.

“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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