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 ↓
Snow-drift 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.
Prepare the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Sift the flour and measure it without packing.
In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the sweet milk and mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the butter mixture.
Combine the baking soda with the flour and gradually add it to the batter, mixing until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into stiff peaks to trap air, giving the cake its light, airy structure.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure once set by heat.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to add tenderness and richness to the crumb.
- Granulated sugar
- Creamed with butter to add sweetness and help create a light, fluffy texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter's acidity to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and liquid so the flour can hydrate and form the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped egg whites hold air that gives the cake its lightness. Folding gently keeps that air in; vigorous stirring deflates the foam and leaves a dense 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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