Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Mix the batter
In a bowl, combine sweet milk, batter, sugar, and egg.
Add cream of tartar and baking soda, mixing well.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden brown.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Egg
- Binds the batter and gives the cake structure as it sets.
- Cream of tartar
- Provides acidity that reacts with baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Releases carbon dioxide when combined with acid, lifting the batter for a lighter crumb.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during baking.
- Sweet milk
- Supplies moisture and liquid that hydrates the flour and sets with the egg.
The step that matters
Adding the cream of tartar and baking soda. Baking soda and cream of tartar react as soon as they are wet, releasing gas that makes the cake rise. Mixing them in thoroughly gives an even rise, and baking soon after mixing keeps the gas from escaping before the batter sets.
“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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