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 ↓
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.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Dissolve the cocoa in the sour milk and add to the mixture.
Sift together the flour and baking soda, then gradually add to the wet ingredients.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake and ice
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the icing, boil the sweet milk and brown sugar until thick, then beat until smooth.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cake brown and stay tender.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter set as it bakes.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor in the crumb.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lightens the cake.
The step that matters
Sifting the flour and baking soda, then adding gradually. Spreading the baking soda evenly through the flour prevents pockets of soda that cause uneven rising or bitter spots. Gradual addition keeps the batter smooth and well mixed so the rise is even.
“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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