Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Philadelphia, Pa
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Gather the ingredients: a cupful of sugar, a tablespoon of butter, an egg, 3 cupfuls of blueberries, a cupful of milk, 2.5 cupfuls of sifted flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and a light grating of nutmeg.
Make the batter
Rub the butter and sugar together.
Break the egg into this mixture and beat thoroughly; then add the milk, and next the flour in which nutmeg and baking powder have been mixed.
Beat quickly and vigorously, and afterwards stir in the berries very gently.
Bake
Pour into buttered pans and bake in a rather hot oven for 35 minutes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
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 |
| Blueberry | 1 cup (148g) | 84 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Cake | not in our table | 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 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
- Flour (in the method)
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Egg (in the method)
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness to the crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown and stay tender.
- Blueberries
- Add moisture and a tart-sweet burst of flavor throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Beat quickly and vigorously, then stir in the berries very gently. Vigorous beating after the flour is added develops gluten, which toughens the cake. Gentle folding of the berries keeps them whole, avoids crushing them and their juice into the batter, and preserves the air trapped in it.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Gingerfits less well
- Clovefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk. 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.
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