Why it works: Vanilla and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,294 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Cream Cakes
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 batter
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, cream together the butter and egg yolks.
Add the sugar and baking powder, mixing well.
Stir in the milk and enough flour to create a stiff batter.
Spoon the batter into patty pans, filling them about halfway.
Bake and fill
Bake until golden brown, watching carefully as they can burn easily.
Once baked, cut a cone-shaped hole in the center of each cake.
Fill the hole with whipped cream and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.
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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Vanilla + coconuttop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,294 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the batter while adding structure as they set.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, making the cakes rise and become light.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a richer flavor in the batter.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cakes and promotes browning as they bake.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the stiff batter and sets the cakes as they bake.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to the batter and helps it come together with the flour.
The step that matters
Bake until golden brown. The sugar in the batter browns quickly at this temperature, so the cakes can scorch before they are cooked through. Checking them closely prevents burnt tops and dry centers.
Swap the coconut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, sugar, milk, flour, cream, vanilla):
- Figfits about as well
- Coconutthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Strawberryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, sugar, milk, flour, cream, vanilla. 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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