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 ↓
Jelly Cake
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.
Make the batter
Beat the eggs with most of the sugar until fluffy.
Cream the butter with the remaining sugar until light.
Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar in a little milk, then add to the mixture.
Bake and assemble
Pour the batter into three well-buttered shallow tins.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden.
Stack the cakes with raspberry jam between each layer and icing on top.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + raspberrytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,014 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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
- Eggs
- Whipped with sugar to trap air, giving the cake lift and a light crumb.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to add richness and a tender texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps hold air when beaten with the eggs and butter.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Reacts with the cream of tartar to release gas, helping the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic partner to the soda, producing gas for rising and a softer crumb.
The step that matters
Dissolving the soda and cream of tartar in milk. Both must be fully dissolved and evenly distributed so the leavening gas forms throughout the batter. Lumps can leave bitter patches or uneven rising.
Swap the raspberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, flour, cream, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Raspberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sugar, flour, cream, 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.
More jelly cake recipes
You might also like
Raspberry Jam150 recipes
Raspberry Cream82 recipes
Raspberry Ice29 recipes
Raspberry Ice Cream24 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.