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 ↓
Custard 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.
Make the cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, beat 5 eggs and mix in 2 cups of sugar until well combined.
Add 6 tablespoons of melted butter and mix thoroughly.
Gradually add 2 ½ cups of flour, mixing until smooth.
Stir in ½ cup of sweet milk, 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the custard
For the custard, heat 1 pint of milk in a saucepan.
In a bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, 3 large tablespoons of sugar, and 3 teaspoons of vanilla.
Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly.
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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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).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and set the cake structure as they cook.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the cake its structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavour in the crumb.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter, helping the leavening react and stabilising the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic ingredients to produce gas that lifts the cake.
- Milk
- Provides moisture and, in the custard, thickens and sets as the eggs cook.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard over low heat. Egg proteins set at around 70 to 80°C and curdle if overheated, so the custard must be stirred constantly over low heat until it just thickens.
“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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