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 ↓
Feather Cake
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.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth.
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add it to the mixture; beat well.
Sift the flour and cream of tartar together, then add to the mixture; beat well.
Add the beaten egg yolks and mix thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the batter.
Gradually add the remaining flour, beating well after each addition.
Bake
Butter two medium-sized cake pans, pour in the batter, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.
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.
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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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air that lifts the cake and makes it light.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar and milk to produce gas, helping the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic ingredient that reacts with baking soda and stabilizes the whipped egg whites.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add richness and tenderness.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender crumb when creamed with butter.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Whites beaten to stiff peaks hold the air that makes the cake light. Stirring too hard or too long deflates that foam, so fold gently with a spatula until just combined.
“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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