Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Corn Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Combine milk and cornmeal until a sponge cake consistency is achieved.
Add the egg, baking powder, salt, and melted butter.
Mix the ingredients in the order given and beat thoroughly.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 25 minutes.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal
- Provides the main body and structure, and sets the corn flavour of the cake.
- Milk
- Hydrates the cornmeal and supplies moisture for a tender crumb.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness, helping the batter hold together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, lifting the cake so it rises and becomes light.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat, which softens the crumb and gives a richer mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Adjust the cornmeal to a sponge cake consistency. Cornmeal absorbs liquid at different rates depending on its fineness and humidity, and the amount is not given. Stirring it into the milk until the batter reaches a sponge cake consistency sets the texture, since too little cornmeal makes the cake loose and too much makes it dense.
“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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