Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
White Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the cream and mix well.
In another bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together.
Make the batter
Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, mixing until just combined.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into an ungreased pan.
Bake
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender crumb when creamed with butter.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and traps air when creamed for a light texture.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they add lift and an airy structure to the batter.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped egg whites hold the air that lifts the cake. Stirring them in vigorously knocks out that air, leaving a dense cake, so fold gently until just incorporated.
“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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