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 ↓
Marshmallow 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.
Make the cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the milk and mix well.
Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the marshmallow filling
Dissolve the gum arabic in ½ cup cold water.
Stir in the powdered sugar and boil without stirring until a drop forms a soft ball in cold water.
Beat the egg white in a bowl, then strain the syrup into it while beating continuously.
Add the vanilla extract and mix until well blended.
Assemble
Spread the marshmallow filling on the cooled cake.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 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
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake crumb as its proteins set during baking.
- Egg whites
- Beaten whites trap air, giving the cake lightness and helping it rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, causing the batter to rise.
- Gum arabic
- Stabilises the whipped syrup foam so the marshmallow filling holds its shape.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps create a tender, fine crumb when creamed with butter.
The step that matters
Boiling the syrup without stirring. The syrup must reach the soft-ball stage so the sugar concentration sets the marshmallow properly. Stirring can trigger sugar crystals, which makes the filling grainy.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg. 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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