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 ↓
Composition 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 the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the egg whites and yolks separately.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks, milk, grated nutmeg, and brandy or wine; mix well.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until combined.
Fold in the beaten egg whites and fruit gently.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until a 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.
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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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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).
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
- Egg yolks enrich the batter, while beaten whites add lightness and help the cake rise.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and gives the cake a tender, rich texture.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter, it adds sweetness and helps create a light, fluffy base.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the cream of tartar or other acidic ingredients to help the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acts as an acid that activates the baking soda and helps the cake rise.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites and fruit. Stirring too vigorously deflates the beaten egg whites, removing the air that gives the cake its lift. Folding gently keeps the batter light and evenly textured.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, flour, milk, brandy, cream):
- Nutmegthe original
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Capersfits less well
- Tarragonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, flour, milk, brandy, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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