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 ↓
Lady Baltimore Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar while beating.
Mix and sift the baking powder and flour several times.
Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the butter mixture.
Stir in the vanilla.
Gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Bake and assemble
Divide the batter into three 7-inch square cake pans.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick comes out clean.
Layer the cakes with fruit and nut filling, and cover the sides and top with ice cream frosting.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + vanillatop 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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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and vanilla 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
- Creams with sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a fine, even texture when creamed with butter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Egg whites
- Whipped and folded in to add lift and a light, airy structure.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and works with the flour to form the batter's structure.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when stiffly beaten, and overmixing or deflating them while folding makes the cake dense and reduces rise. Fold gently until just combined.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar, milk, egg):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar, milk, 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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