Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
LvE’s Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the eggs well.
Add the sugar and beat for five minutes.
Mix in 1 cup of flour and the cream of tartar, beating for three minutes.
Dissolve the baking soda in the cold water and add it along with the additional cup of flour. Beat until well mixed.
Add flavoring as desired.
Bake
Pour the batter into a deep pan and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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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
- Beaten eggs trap air that gives the sponge its light, airy structure.
- Sugar
- Sugar beaten with eggs stabilizes the foam and adds sweetness and tenderness.
- Flour
- Flour provides the starch that sets during baking to form the cake's structure.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter, stabilizing the egg foam and helping it hold its volume.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs and sugar. The air whipped into the eggs and sugar is the main source of lift in a sponge cake. Under-beating leaves a dense cake, and deflating the batter while folding in flour and liquid loses that air.
“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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