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 ↓
Sour Cream Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a cool oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Break 1 egg into a cup, then fill the cup with sour cream.
Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl and add 1 cup of sugar, then mix well.
Sift together 1½ cups of flour, ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon of coarse sea salt, then add them to the bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine ¼ cup melted butter, 2 eggs, and ¼ cup milk, then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.
Mix until well combined, then beat for 2 minutes.
Bake
Spread the batter thicker around the edges of the pan.
Bake in a cool oven at 300°F (150°C).
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as the cake sets.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tenderness, and a slight tang to the crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps keep it moist and tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to lift the batter and help it rise.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for moisture and a rich, tender texture.
The step that matters
Spread the batter thicker around the edges of the pan. Batter in the centre rises more and can end up domed or uneven, so thicker edges help the cake bake evenly and level as it sets.
“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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