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 ↓
Cup 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.
Make the batter
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the well-beaten eggs and mix well.
Dissolve the baking soda in the cream or milk and add to the mixture.
Gradually add the flour, nutmeg, and cream of tartar, mixing until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
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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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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
- Butter
- Creams with the sugar to trap air and give a tender, rich crumb.
- Sugar
- Creams with the butter for a light texture and adds sweetness and browning.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that helps the cupcakes rise.
- Cream or milk
- Adds moisture and liquid so the flour can hydrate into batter.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cupcakes as its proteins and starches set on baking.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter to react with the baking soda and help the rise.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the cream or milk. Baking soda must be fully dissolved so it spreads evenly and reacts with the acid in the batter; clumps can leave bitter spots and uneven rising.
“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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