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 ↓
Burnt Sugar 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).
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the milk and eggs, mixing well.
Gradually add the sifted flour and baking powder, stirring until combined.
Make the caramel
Prepare the caramel by slowly burning ½ cup of sugar in a small frying pan until it becomes a smooth black syrup. Remove from heat and carefully add ¼ cup of water to the caramel.
Bake
Stir the caramel into the cake batter.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender, browned crumb when creamed with butter.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and richness, and traps air when creamed.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and binding, helping the cake set as it bakes.
- Sifted flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Caramel
- Adds deep, bittersweet flavor and color to the batter.
The step that matters
Burning the sugar for the caramel. Sugar must be cooked until dark and smooth but not scorched or bitter. Removing it from heat before adding water avoids spattering and stops the caramel from overcooking.
“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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