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Dessert

Chocolate Nougat Cake

A chocolate cake with nougat and almond topping.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fannie Merritt Farmer · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 10 ingredients
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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 ↓

Chocolate Nougat Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Cream the butter.

  2. Add gradually one and one-half cups powdered sugar and the egg unbeaten.

  3. When well mixed, add two-thirds cup milk.

  4. Add the flour mixed and sifted with baking powder and vanilla.

  5. To the melted chocolate, add one-third cup powdered sugar.

  6. Place the chocolate mixture on the range, add gradually the remaining milk, and cook until smooth.

  7. Cool slightly, then add the chocolate mixture to the cake batter.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake fifteen to twenty minutes in round layer cake pans.

  2. Let the cakes cool, then place between layers and on top of the cake.

  3. Sprinkle White Mountain Cream with almonds on top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1007Calories
29 gProtein
35 gFat
138 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7

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

By Fannie Merritt Farmer. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

  4. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  5. 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

Butter
Creams with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a tender, rich crumb.
Egg
Binds the batter and adds structure as the cake sets in the oven.
Bread flour
Forms the cake's structure once its proteins set during baking.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter so the layers rise and become light.
Chocolate
Provides the main chocolate flavour and some moisture to the batter.
Milk
Adds moisture and helps form a smooth batter and chocolate mixture.

The step that matters

Cook the chocolate mixture until smooth. Cooking the melted chocolate with sugar and milk on the range must be done gently until smooth, so the chocolate stays glossy and does not seize or grain. Cooling it slightly before adding it to the batter keeps the eggs and batter from being disturbed by heat.

“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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