Why it works: Flour and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
White 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 oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add sweet milk and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Fold in almond extract and then gently fold in egg whites until fully incorporated.
Bake
Pour batter into greased cake pan and bake for 25‑30 minutes or until toothpick 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.
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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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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 + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (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
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter for aeration and adds sweetness and gentle browning to the crust.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake's crumb as the batter bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes airy.
- Egg whites
- Folded in to add lift and structure, helping the cake set with a light texture.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and tenderness to the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Egg whites hold air that gives the cake its lift. Overmixing or deflating them with vigorous stirring makes the cake dense, so fold gently until just incorporated.
“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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