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 ↓
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Warm the sugar instead of melting the butter.
Separate the eggs; mix half the cream of tartar with the yolks and half with the whites.
Combine the melted chocolate with the sugar and butter.
Add the milk and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 40 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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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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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).
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
- Eggs
- Provide structure and lift when the whites are beaten and folded in, and add moisture and richness.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps keep the crumb tender and moist.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with acidic ingredients to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Stabilizes the beaten egg whites so they hold their volume.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Beaten whites trap air that gives the cake its lift. Overmixing or stirring vigorously deflates them, leaving a dense, heavy cake.
“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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