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 ↓
Tea Oake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Add the eggs and mix well.
Stir in the milk.
In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda and cream of tartar with the flour.
Gradually stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into shallow pans, about 1 inch deep.
Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
Serve warm.
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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Milk + flourtop 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness to the crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown while creaming with butter.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and bind the batter as it sets.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and liquid to hydrate the flour.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Supplies acid that activates the baking soda and helps leavening.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins and starches set.
The step that matters
Gradually stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which can make the cake tough. Stir just until combined, and add the leavening mixture gradually so the gas is evenly distributed.
“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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