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Dessert

White Cake with Caramel Frosting

A light white cake topped with a caramel frosting.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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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 ↓

White Cake with Caramel Frosting

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.

Make the cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a large bowl, cream together the granulated sugar and butter.

  3. Add the milk, flour, baking powder, and vanilla extract to the mixture.

  4. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites until well combined.

  5. Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Make the caramel frosting

  1. For the caramel frosting, combine the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar in a saucepan and cover with water.

  2. Add the heavy cream and butter, then cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture thickens.

  3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then beat until spreadable and add vanilla extract.

  4. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

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

All-purpose flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Whites of 7 eggs
Beaten whites add air and help the cake rise and set in structure.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking, helping the cake rise and become light.
Butter
Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the cake and frosting.
Dark brown sugar
Adds moisture and deep molasses flavour to the caramel frosting.
Granulated sugar
Sweetens the cake and, when cooked, helps form the caramel frosting.

The step that matters

Folding in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air that gives the cake its lift. Folding gently keeps that air in; vigorous stirring deflates the batter and yields a dense cake.

“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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