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 ↓
Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix together sugar, baking powder, lard or butter, egg, flour, milk, and salt until smooth.
When the dough is stiff enough to handle, roll it out to about ½ inch thick.
Shape and bake
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cut the dough into rounds like biscuits and spread softened butter on both sides.
Place the buttered sides together and bake for 15 minutes.
Assemble and serve
Once baked, layer sweetened strawberries between the shortcake layers and on top, adding whipped cream if desired.
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 + 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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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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the shortcake layers together after baking.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness, helping bind the dough.
- Lard or butter
- Adds fat that makes the shortcake tender and rich.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the shortcake rise.
- Milk
- Adds moisture that hydrates the flour and forms the dough.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown lightly.
The step that matters
Roll and handle the dough gently. Once the dough is stiff enough to handle, avoid overworking it. Excess handling develops gluten, which makes the shortcake tough rather than tender.
“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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