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 ↓
Cup 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.
Prepare
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
Add the eggs and beat until very light.
Mix and bake
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
Dissolve the baking soda and cream of tartar in a little milk.
Combine all ingredients just before pouring into the pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1½ hours.
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
- Forms the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and their air from beating helps the cake rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and gives a rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, creamed with butter, helps trap air for a lighter texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid to release carbon dioxide gas, which makes the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Provides acidity that activates the baking soda and helps the cake rise.
The step that matters
Combine all ingredients just before pouring into the pan. Baking soda and cream of tartar begin reacting as soon as they are wet, releasing carbon dioxide that lifts the batter. Waiting before baking lets that gas escape, so the cake rises less.
“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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