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 ↓
A Rich Short Cake Crust
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 the dough
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and baking powder.
Cut in the butter with a knife or work it in with your fingertips.
Add the beaten egg white and gradually mix in the milk until a flaky dough forms.
Fold and knead the dough lightly.
Divide the dough into two portions and pat into rounds or squares.
Bake
Bake in cake tins at 400°F (200°C) for 15 to 20 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.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Pastry flour
- Provides the main structure of the crust once mixed with liquid.
- Butter
- Cut into the flour to create flaky layers and tenderness as it melts in the oven.
- Egg white
- Adds structure and lift to the dough when beaten stiff before mixing.
- Milk
- Moistens the flour so the dough holds together and bakes tender.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the dough to help it rise and become light.
The step that matters
Cutting in the butter. Butter should stay in small cold pieces within the flour, since it melts in the oven and leaves flaky layers. If it is worked in too thoroughly, the crust becomes dense and tough.
“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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