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 Cream 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).
Cream the softened butter and 1 cup of sugar together until light and fluffy.
Make the batter
Beat the egg yolks until very light and add the remaining sugar, then mix with the butter mixture.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
Alternately add the flour mixture and the beaten egg whites to the butter mixture, blending well.
Finally, mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract until fully combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-35 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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and whites add lift and structure to the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch structure that holds the cake's crumb together.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat that gives the cake tenderness and rich flavor.
- Chocolate
- Adds deep chocolate flavor and some moisture to the batter.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a light texture when creamed with butter.
The step that matters
Creaming the butter and sugar. Beating softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy traps air bubbles that help the cake rise and stay tender. If the mixture is under-creamed, the cake may turn out dense, so beat until it is noticeably paler and fluffy.
“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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