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 ↓
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg whites and mix well.
Gradually add the flour and baking powder, alternating with the milk, and mix until smooth.
Pour the batter into greased cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the icing and assemble
For the icing, grate the chocolate into a saucepan with sugar and water.
Boil the mixture until it thickens into a syrup.
Once the cakes are baked, spread the syrup between the layers.
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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender, rich texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps it hold air for a light crumb.
- Egg whites
- Add structure and help bind the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as the batter sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter for a smooth, even crumb.
The step that matters
Boil the chocolate syrup until it thickens. Boiling evaporates water and concentrates the sugar, so the syrup thickens. If it is too thin it will soak into the layers and make them soggy; too long and it can turn stiff or grainy as it cools.
“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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