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 ↓
Tea 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 your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Melt the butter and mix it with the sweet milk.
Combine the egg mixture with the milk and butter.
In another bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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 + 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).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Add structure and richness, and help the beaten batter hold air for a light texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, beaten with the eggs, helps create a light, fluffy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb.
- Sweet milk
- Provides moisture that hydrates the flour and forms the batter.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes lighter.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth. Adding flour in stages and stirring just until smooth keeps the batter evenly mixed without lumps. Overmixing once flour is hydrated develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and 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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