Name: Sponge Roll, or Sheet Cake
Ingredients: 1 quart egg yolks; 1 quart whole eggs; 2 lbs granulated sugar; 12 oz melted butter; 2 lbs flour; a pinch of salt

Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Sponge Roll, or Sheet Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA medium oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a medium oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the batter

Beat the egg yolks, whole eggs, sugar, and salt together until warm and light.
Gradually add the melted butter while mixing.
Once half mixed, add the flour and continue mixing until fully combined.
Use a pasteboard to remove the batter from the mixing vessel.

Bake

Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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 yolks: Add richness and emulsify with the butter, giving the batter a tender crumb.
Whole eggs: Trap air when beaten, providing the structure that lets the sponge rise.
Granulated sugar: Sweetens the batter and helps hold air bubbles when beaten with the eggs.
Melted butter: Adds fat for a moist, tender texture and rich flavor.
Flour: Provides starch that sets during baking, giving the sponge its firm structure.

The step that matters

Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt until warm and light. Whipping the eggs and sugar together while warm traps air that gives the sponge its lift. Under-beating leaves a dense roll, and the air must be preserved when the butter and flour are folded in.

“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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Sponge Roll, or Sheet Cake