Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Chocolate Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Beat eggs until light.
Cream the butter.
Add sugar.
Combine mixtures.
Add melted chocolate.
Add bread crumbs.
Add flour.
Bake and shape
Spread mixture in a shallow buttered pan.
Bake in a slow oven.
Shape with a tiny biscuit-cutter.
Assemble
Put together in pairs with White Mountain Cream between and on top.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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.
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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
- Eggs
- Beaten until light, they add structure and lift to the batter as they set.
- Butter
- Creamed with the sugar, it adds richness and a tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Creamed with the butter, it sweetens the cake and helps give a fine texture.
- Baker's chocolate
- Melted into the batter, it supplies the chocolate flavor and color.
- Stale bread crumbs
- Absorb liquid and give the cake body and a light, soft texture.
- Flour
- Adds structure so the batter holds together as it bakes.
The step that matters
Bake in a slow oven. A slow oven heats the batter gently, so the eggs set evenly without drying out or cracking. Too much heat can make the cake dense or rough on top.
“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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