Name: Cream Filling for Cake
Ingredients: 1 scant pint milk (about 2 cups); 1 cup sugar; 2 eggs or 4 egg yolks, well beaten; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; butter, size of an egg; flavoring of choice (e.g., vanilla or almond extract)

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 ↓

Cream Filling for Cake

Ingredients

1 scant pint milk (about 2 cups)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs or 4 egg yolks, well beaten
2 tablespoons cornstarch
butter, size of an egg
flavoring of choice (e.g., vanilla or almond extract)

Directions

Make the filling

In a saucepan, combine milk and sugar, and bring to a boil.
In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in a little milk, then add the dissolved cornstarch to the boiling mixture.
Stir in the beaten eggs or yolks and cook until thick.
Remove from heat, add butter and flavoring, and let cool.

Assemble

Spread the filling between cake layers and frost the top.

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.

Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,050 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

Eggs or egg yolks: Thicken the custard as they cook and add richness to the filling.
Cornstarch: Thickens the hot milk mixture into a smooth, spreadable filling.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and helps balance the richness of the eggs and butter.
Butter: Adds fat for a softer, richer texture and mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Stir in the beaten eggs or yolks and cook until thick. Egg proteins set as they heat, thickening the filling. If the mixture is not cooked long enough, the filling stays thin; if it overheats or boils hard, the eggs can curdle and turn grainy.

“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.

Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes

White Cake431 recipes

Pound Cake373 recipes

Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes

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Cream Filling for Cake