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 ↓
Nelly's 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, reserving 2 egg whites, and mix well.
Stir in the milk and baking powder.
Gradually add the flour, mixing until smooth.
Pour the batter into two long shallow baking tins.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make the dressing and finish
For the dressing, beat the reserved egg whites to stiff peaks.
Gradually add 1½ cups sugar and mix until glossy.
Flavor with vanilla and fold in the grated chocolate.
Once the cake is cool, spread the dressing on top and cut into diamond slices.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure, and their whites whip into the stiff dressing.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise in the oven.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter to a pourable consistency.
- Grated chocolate
- Adds chocolate flavor and richness to the dressing.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to stiff peaks. Egg whites must be whipped until they hold stiff peaks and then sugar is added gradually; under-whipped or oily whites will not form a stable, glossy dressing, and the dressing depends on that foam for its texture.
“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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