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 ↓
One-two-three-four 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the milk or water with the baking powder and vanilla extract.
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the flour to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk mixture.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the batter.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a long pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool and ice the top as 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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Vanilla + sugartop 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).
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Vanilla + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds tenderness and rich flavor to the crumb.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter to aerate the batter and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- Eggs
- Whipped whites add lift and structure, while the yolks enrich the batter and help it set.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Milk or water
- Hydrates the flour and dissolves the leavening, giving the batter its moisture and loose texture.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that gives the cake its lift. Stirring them vigorously or letting them deflate before folding will leave the cake dense and heavy.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, sugar, flour, egg):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, sugar, flour, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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