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 ↓
Caramel 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 powdered sugar together.
Add the sweet milk and egg whites, mixing well.
Sift together the flour and baking powder, then fold into the mixture.
Pour the batter into prepared cake pans and bake until golden.
Make the filling
For the filling, combine the granulated sugar, cream, and melted butter in a clean skillet.
Boil gently, stirring minimally to avoid scorching.
To test, drop a bit into cold water; it should form a pasty consistency when ready.
Remove from heat and stir until thick like molasses.
Assemble
Spread the filling between the layers and on top and sides of the cake.
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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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
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness to the cake crumb through fat.
- Egg whites
- Provide structure and lift to the batter as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, as it cooks, thickens into a caramel.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture to the filling, making it smooth and rich.
The step that matters
Boiling the filling without scorching. Sugar darkens and burns quickly once it passes its caramel stage, so gentle boiling with minimal stirring keeps the filling smooth and evenly coloured. Removing it from heat at the right thickness sets 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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