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 ↓
Short Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix in the butter with your fingers until crumbly.
Gradually add milk until the dough forms, using only as much flour as needed to roll it out.
Divide the dough in half.
Roll out one half to ½ inch thick.
Roll out the second half.
Bake
Place the rolled dough in a buttered pan.
Spread melted butter on top.
Place the second half on top of the first layer.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.
Assemble and serve
Remove from the pan.
Take off the top layer.
Butter the inside of both layers well.
Cover the bottom layer thickly with crushed sweetened fruit.
Cover the bottom layer with a layer of whipped cream.
Place the top layer back on.
Cover the top layer with whipped cream.
Add fruit juice for color if desired.
Serve while warm.
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.
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).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough so the layers hold together when baked and split.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the shortcake rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Rubbed into the flour for tenderness and spread on the layers for richness and browning.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour so the mixture forms a dough that can be rolled out.
- Whipped cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the filling and topping while softening the baked layers.
The step that matters
Using only as much flour as needed to roll it out. Extra flour dries the dough and toughens it, because flour proteins develop gluten when worked. Adding milk gradually lets you keep the dough soft and tender.
“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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