Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cream Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, and butter, and rub them together lightly.
Add baking soda and cream of tartar to the mixture.
Beat the eggs until light, then mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract.
Quickly combine all ingredients together.
Bake
Half-fill small buttered cake tins with the batter.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
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 + 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).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream and cream of tartar to release gas, helping the cakes rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Adds acidity that works with the baking soda to lift the batter and keep it tender.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and richness, and when beaten they trap air that helps the cakes rise.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture, tenderness, and acidity that activates the baking soda.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the cakes as its proteins set in the oven.
The step that matters
Quickly combine all ingredients together.. Baking soda and cream of tartar begin releasing gas as soon as they are wet and acidic. Mixing quickly and baking promptly keeps those bubbles in the batter so the cakes rise well rather than falling flat.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, egg, cream):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Coconutfits less well
- Figfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, egg, cream. 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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