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 ↓
Marble Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.
Make the batters
In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the flour, milk, and baking powder to the butter mixture and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks, molasses, and butter.
Mix in the flour and milk until smooth.
Bake
Layer the light and dark batters in a loaf pan until all is used.
Bake until a toothpick inserted 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 + flourtop 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).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- Egg whites
- Beaten until stiff, they trap air and give the cake a light, airy structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and the dark color of the dark batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven, helping the cake rise.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites until stiff. Whites beaten past stiff peaks turn dry and grainy and lose their ability to trap air, so the cake bakes up denser and less light.
“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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