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 ↓
Marble Chocolate 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the sweet milk and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder, then gradually add to the butter mixture.
Stir in the egg whites and vanilla until fully incorporated.
Take out 1 cup of the batter and mix in the grated chocolate moistened with a little milk.
Layer and bake
In a greased baking pan, pour some of the white batter, then drop spoonfuls of the chocolate batter in spots.
Continue alternating layers of white and chocolate batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 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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Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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).
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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter for aeration and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's main structure once its proteins set during baking.
- Egg whites
- Add structure and help the batter hold its rise as they set in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, making the cake rise and become airy.
- Grated chocolate
- Gives the darker swirls their cocoa flavor and a contrasting color.
The step that matters
Layering the chocolate batter. Spoon the chocolate batter into the white batter gently rather than stirring it through. Mixing fully blends the two colors into an even brown cake and loses the marbled pattern.
“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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