Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Chocolate Marble 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the softened butter and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the heavy cream.
Divide the batter in half and mix the grated chocolate into one half.
Marble and bake
In a greased cake tin, alternate spoonfuls of the plain and chocolate batters to create a marbled effect.
Drizzle vanilla extract over the top.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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 + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,466 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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 with sugar to trap air, giving the cake lift and a light, fluffy structure.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps hold air in the beaten eggs and butter.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to release gas that helps the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acid that works with baking soda to leaven the batter and stabilize the eggs.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the heavy cream. Adding dry ingredients in alternating portions with the cream keeps the batter smooth and well emulsified. Adding everything at once can deflate the air from the eggs and produce a dense, uneven crumb.
“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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