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Dessert

Cream Cake

A layered cake with a butter‑cornstarch milk filling.

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 ↓

Cream Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

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. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Make the cake

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

  2. Beat the eggs until frothy.

  3. Add the salt and brown sugar.

  4. Sift the baking powder with the flour.

  5. Fold the sifted mixture into the egg mixture.

  6. Divide the batter into two layers.

  7. Bake until done.

  8. Remove from pans.

  9. Split the layers.

  10. Set aside.

Make the cream filling

  1. Melt the butter until foamy.

  2. Blend in the corn starch.

  3. Gradually add 1 cup of hot milk.

  4. Boil for 5 minutes.

  5. Heat the remaining milk in a double boiler.

  6. Dissolve the sugar.

  7. Combine the corn starch mixture with the milk.

  8. Stir in the beaten egg.

  9. Cook for 1 minute.

  10. Add the vanilla.

  11. Remove from heat.

  12. Stir until cool.

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. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

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

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

  4. Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,943 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Corn + milktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,955 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

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
Beaten eggs trap air and add structure and richness to the cake batter.
Flour
Forms the structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, helping the layers rise and become light.
Corn starch
Thickens the milk mixture into a smooth, stable cream as it heats.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the cream, which thickens when heated with starch and egg.
Butter
Adds richness and flavor to the cream filling.

The step that matters

Combine the corn starch mixture with the milk. Cornstarch thickens only when heated in liquid, and adding hot liquid gradually while stirring prevents lumps. Stirring the beaten egg in carefully and cooking gently keeps the cream smooth rather than scrambled.

“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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