Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
A Nice Plain Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the batter
Put the flour and baking powder into a basin and stir together.
Rub in the dripping, add the sugar, caraway seeds, and currants.
Whisk the eggs with the milk, then beat all together thoroughly until well mixed.
Bake
Butter a tin, pour the batter into the tin, and bake from 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when moistened, lifting the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and set during baking, giving the cake structure and body.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour, keeping the crumb soft and tender.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and adds moisture that helps it brown and stay tender.
The step that matters
Beat until well mixed, then bake without delay. Baking powder starts releasing gas as soon as it meets liquid. Thorough mixing spreads it evenly for an even rise, and getting the batter into the tin and oven promptly keeps that gas from escaping before the structure sets.
“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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