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Dessert

Chocolate Layer Cake

A layered cake with white and chocolate layers, frosted with white and chocolate glaze.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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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 ↓

Chocolate Layer Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

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

  1. Cream the butter and gradually beat in the sugar until light.

  2. Add the sweet milk and vanilla, mixing well.

  3. Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth and set aside.

  4. Mix the baking powder with the flour.

  5. Stir the flour and egg whites alternately into the butter mixture.

  6. Oil three deep baking pans and divide two-thirds of the batter between two of them.

  7. Stir the melted chocolate into the remaining batter and pour it into the third pan.

Bake and assemble

  1. Bake the cakes at 350°F (175°C) for about 20 minutes.

  2. On a large plate, place a layer of white cake and spread with white glace.

  3. Add the dark cake on top and spread with white glace.

  4. Top with the third cake and spread with chocolate glace.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked 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
Creaming with sugar traps air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
Sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps create a light texture when creamed with butter.
Egg whites
Whipped to a stiff froth, they add lift and structure to the batter.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Baking powder
Releases gas as it bakes, helping the cakes rise.
Melted chocolate
Adds chocolate flavor and darkens the batter for the third layer.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Stirring flour and whipped egg whites in alternately, gently, helps keep the air bubbles from deflating, which keeps the cake light.

“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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