Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
White Cup Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the sugar, continuing to beat until well combined.
Add the egg whites and mix until fully incorporated.
Sift together the flour and baking soda, then gradually add to the mixture.
Finally, stir in the buttermilk until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Beaten with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb and rich flavour.
- Egg whites
- Add structure and help the batter hold its air as it bakes.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a fine, even texture when beaten with butter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity, tenderising the crumb and activating the baking soda.
The step that matters
Sift the flour and baking soda, then add gradually. Sifting breaks up lumps so the baking soda spreads evenly, and gradual addition keeps the batter smooth so gluten does not overdevelop and toughen the crumb.
“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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