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 ↓
Cake, Plum
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, carbonate of soda, currants, and sliced candied peel.
Cream the butter and mix it with the dry ingredients and milk.
Dissolve the carbonate of ammonia in 2 tablespoons of milk and add it to the mixture.
Beat the mixture well until fully combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a buttered tin.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 to 2 hours.
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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Currant + milktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender texture to the crumb.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cake brown as it bakes.
- Carbonate of ammonia
- Releases gas as it heats, helping the cake rise and open up.
- Milk
- Provides moisture that hydrates the flour and dissolves the leavening.
- Currants
- Add fruit sweetness and chewy pockets throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Dissolving the carbonate of ammonia fully before adding it. Leavening works best when evenly dispersed; undissolved pieces can leave pockets of bitter residue and uneven rising. Beating until fully combined spreads the gas-producing agent through the batter for a consistent rise.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, milk. 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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