Name: Apple Cream Filling for Cake
Ingredients: 1 cup of granulated sugar; 1/2 pound of sugar; 1/2 pound of butter; 1/2 pound of flour is used in this cake; half cup butter; 1-1/2 cups pulverized sugar; 1 tablespoonful milk; 1 teaspoonful vanilla; 2 cups sugar; 1/2 cup butter; 1 cup milk; 3 cups flour; 2 teaspoonfuls cream of tartar; 1 teaspoonful soda; 1 egg very stiff; one raw apple into the egg; 1/4 lemon; half pound; five eggs have been used; 1 small teaspoonful of baking powder; 3 eggs

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 ↓

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.

Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,501 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked 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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Whipped whites and beaten eggs trap air and give the cake and cream their lightness.
Butter: Creamed with sugar, it adds richness and a tender texture to the cake and icing.
Sugar: Sweetens the cream and helps the beaten egg foam hold its structure.
Flour: Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
Apple: Adds moisture and fruity flavour to the light apple cream.

The step that matters

Beat the egg white very stiff. Beaten egg white holds air in a stable foam, which gives the apple cream its lightness. If the white is under-whipped, the foam collapses and the cream turns out dense and flat.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, flour, milk, vanilla, cream, egg):

Figfits better
Coconutfits better
Raisinfits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, flour, milk, vanilla, cream, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Cake	not in our table	0

Apple Cream Filling for Cake