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 ↓
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. 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Make the batter
Add the egg yolks, milk, and baking powder to the butter mixture, and mix well.
Gradually add the flour, mixing until just combined.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Pour half of the batter into a greased cake tin.
For the dark part, repeat the process using the same ingredients, but mix the egg yolks with the sugar, milk, and butter first.
Bake
Pour the dark batter over the white batter in the tin, alternating layers.
Bake for 25-30 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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 trap air for lift, while yolks add richness and help bind the batter.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, causing the cake to rise in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it stay tender and brown lightly.
- Milk
- Adds moisture that hydrates the flour and keeps the crumb soft.
The step that matters
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently. Whites are full of trapped air that gives the cake its lift. Vigorous stirring deflates them, leaving a dense cake that rises less in the oven.
“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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