Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Hot Water Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the eggs until very light.
Gradually beat in the sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix the baking powder with the flour.
Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture a little at a time.
Gradually add the hot water and mix until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.
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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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Eggs
- Whipped to trap air, giving the cake its light, airy structure.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps stabilise the whipped eggs while adding tenderness.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten that set the cake's crumb once baked.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise in the oven.
- Hot water
- Adds moisture and helps the batter blend into a smooth, loose batter.
The step that matters
Stir the flour mixture in a little at a time. Folding flour in gently keeps the air beaten into the eggs. Adding it all at once or overmixing knocks out air and develops gluten, which can make the cake dense and tough.
“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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