Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Marbled Chocolate 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.
Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the sweet milk and mix well.
Sift in the flour and baking powder, then mix until combined.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.
Marble and bake
Take 1 cup of the batter and mix in the grated chocolate.
Add a little milk to wet the chocolate and add vanilla for flavor.
In a greased cake pan, pour a layer of the white batter.
Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate batter in spots, then pour the remaining white batter over the top and smooth the top.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool.
Ice with Chocolate Icing No. 1.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to trap air, giving a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter for airy structure and adds sweetness and browning.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake's crumb as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Egg whites whipped to stiff peaks add lift and a light, open texture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Grated chocolate
- Forms the dark marbled swirls and adds chocolate flavor and richness.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stirring instead of folding deflates the whipped foam that gives lift, leaving a dense cake. Gentle folding keeps the air bubbles intact.
“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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