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 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.
Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the flour and baking powder, mixing well.
Incorporate the sweet milk and 3 whole eggs, mixing until smooth.
Make the icing and bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
In a separate bowl, beat the reserved egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla, continuing to beat until glossy.
Fold in the grated chocolate gently.
Once the cake is cool, frost it with the chocolate icing.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness to the batter, and whipped whites give the icing its airy body.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps create a light, fluffy texture.
- Grated chocolate
- Adds chocolate flavor and richness to the cake.
The step that matters
Beat the reserved egg whites until stiff peaks form. Egg whites must be whipped to stiff peaks to hold air for the icing; any trace of fat or yolk prevents them from whipping properly, and underbeaten whites leave the icing thin and unstable.
“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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