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 ↓
Jelly Roll
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat eggs until light.
Add sugar gradually.
Add milk.
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt, sifting together.
Add melted butter.
Line the bottom of a dripping pan with paper; butter the paper and sides of the pan.
Pour mixture into pan and spread evenly.
Bake and roll
Bake for twelve minutes in a moderate oven.
Remove cake from oven and place a paper sprinkled with powdered sugar on top.
Quickly remove the paper and cut off a thin strip from the sides and ends of the cake.
Spread jelly or jam, beaten to a spreadable consistency, over the cake and roll.
After rolling, wrap the cake with paper to maintain shape.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| 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 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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 to trap air, giving the light, airy structure of the sponge.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps stabilise the beaten eggs into a fine crumb.
- Flour
- Forms the set structure of the cake as its proteins and starch cook.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes lighter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavour, and keeps the cake tender and moist.
The step that matters
Quickly remove the paper and cut off a thin strip from the sides and ends of the cake.. The cake is hot and pliable only briefly after baking. Waiting lets it stiffen and crack when rolled, so the paper must come off and the edges be trimmed while it is still warm.
“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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