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 ↓
Corn Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the egg and mix well.
Stir in the sweet milk, granulated meal, and flour until combined.
Add the cream of tartar and baking soda, mixing until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
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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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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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).
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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
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness as it sets in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Granulated meal
- Gives the cake its corn texture and body.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour and meal into a batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to release gas that makes the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Provides acidity that activates the baking soda, helping the cake rise and stay tender.
The step that matters
Mixing the cream of tartar and baking soda into the batter. Baking soda and cream of tartar react as soon as they meet liquid, releasing gas. Mixing until smooth and then baking promptly keeps that gas in the batter, so the cake rises well instead of falling flat.
“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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