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 ↓
Black 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.
Make the batter
Cream the butter in a large bowl.
Beat in the sugar, then add the beaten eggs.
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk and add it to the mixture.
Stir in the flour and vanilla extract.
Melt the chocolate and stir in the boiling water, then add to the cake batter.
Pour the batter into square tins to make two layers.
Bake and finish
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick comes out clean.
Frost with white frosting between the layers and on top.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Vanilla + chocolatetop 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
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter set as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to release gas, helping the cake rise.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture and tenderness.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Chocolate
- Adds deep chocolate flavor and color to the batter.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk. Baking soda needs an acid to react and release gas. Mixing it fully into the sour milk before adding it to the batter lets the leavening spread evenly, so the cake rises uniformly instead of in patches.
“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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