Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Perfection Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately quick oven”. The 400°F (200°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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the milk and mix well.
In another bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until smooth.
Make and bake the cake
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the batter.
Pour the batter into a greased long pan, covering the bottom evenly.
Bake until light brown, about 20-25 minutes.
While the cake is baking, prepare a clean cloth sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Roll and serve
Once baked, turn the cake out onto the cloth, bottom side up.
Spread with your choice of acid jelly and roll the cake while it is still hot.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 whites
- Beaten to stiff peaks, they trap air that lifts and gives the cake its light, airy structure.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter to create tenderness and sweetness, and helps the cake brown while baking.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add fat, giving a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Cornstarch
- Softens the flour's gluten, producing a more tender, delicate crumb.
- Cream of tartar
- An acid that stabilizes the whipped egg whites and helps them hold their peaks.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Stiff egg whites hold the cake's rise, so folding gently keeps the air in. Stirring vigorously deflates the foam and leaves a dense, flat 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.
More perfection cake recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.