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Dessert

French Chocolate Cake

A French chocolate cake with a custard filling.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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French Chocolate Cake

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 ↓

French Chocolate Cake

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.

Make the cake batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.

  3. In another bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.

  4. Add the yolks of the eggs to the creamed mixture and mix well.

  5. Stir in the milk, then fold in the beaten egg whites.

  6. Sift together the flour and baking powder, then add to the mixture.

  7. For the chocolate layer, use the yolks and mix in the grated chocolate.

Bake and fill

  1. Bake the layers in the oven until done.

  2. For the custard, combine the eggs, milk, sugar, and flour or cornstarch in a saucepan.

  3. Cook over low heat until thickened, then cool and flavor with vanilla.

  4. Spread the custard between the layers of 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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

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

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

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

  5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 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

Egg whites
Beaten until stiff, they trap air that gives the cake its light, airy structure.
Butter
Creamed with sugar, it adds fat that gives the cake a tender crumb and rich flavor.
Sugar
Creamed with butter, it adds sweetness and helps browning and a soft texture.
Flour
Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking, helping the cake rise.
Grated chocolate
Adds chocolate flavor and richness to the chocolate layer.

The step that matters

Cooking the custard over low heat. Starch thickens as it heats, but high heat or stirring too little can scorch the milk or leave lumps, so cook gently and keep stirring until thickened.

“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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