Why it works: Vanilla and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. 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. 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.
Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda; add to the mixture.
Stir in the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Bake and frost
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
For the frosting, mix the reserved egg whites with 1 ½ cups powdered sugar and fold in the grated chocolate.
Spread the frosting on the cooled cake.
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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Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,466 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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
- Adds fat and richness, and helps make the cake tender.
- Eggs
- Egg whites add lift and structure, while yolks add richness and binding.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to help the cake rise.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown and stay moist.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped egg whites hold air that gives the cake its lift. Stirring them vigorously knocks that air out, so fold gently with a spatula until just combined.
“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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