Why it works: Condensed milk and sugar work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 804 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Dutch Apple Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Rub in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Beat the egg and combine it with the condensed milk and water.
Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spread the dough in a shallow baking pan, about ½ inch thick.
Top and bake
Arrange the apple slices, sharp edges down, in parallel rows on top of the dough, pressing them in slightly.
Sprinkle the sugar over the apples.
Bake for about 30 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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Condensed milk + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + appletop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the cake base as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the dough rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Adds fat that gives the dough a crumbly, tender texture.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds structure as it sets.
- Condensed milk
- Adds sweetness, moisture and richness to the dough.
- Apples
- Provide moisture and a tart flavour that contrasts with the sweet topping.
The step that matters
Arranging the apple slices. Apples release moisture as they cook, so pressing them slightly into the dough and keeping them in even rows helps them sit evenly and keeps the base from becoming soggy in places.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, egg, condensed milk, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, egg, condensed milk, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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