Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Angel Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Separate the whites of nine large eggs, or ten small ones.
Measure one and one-fourth cups granulated sugar.
Measure one cup flour.
Measure scant one-half teaspoon cream of tartar.
Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites before whipping.
Flavor to taste.
Sift the sugar and flour four times.
Make the batter
Whip the egg whites to foam.
Add the cream of tartar.
Whip until very stiff.
Add the sugar and beat in, always using a spoon to mix the cake batter.
Add the flour and fold it lightly through.
Bake and finish
Put the batter in a moderate oven; bake for twenty to forty minutes.
Turn the cake upside down when done.
Frost as with any cake.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
-
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Flour and egg 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to foam and stiffened, they trap air and give the cake its light, airy structure.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Beaten into the whipped whites, it sweetens the cake and helps stabilize the foam.
- Flour
- Folded in lightly at the end, it gives the cake enough structure to hold its airy crumb.
- Cream of tartar
- Added to the whites, it acidifies the foam, helping it whip stiffer and hold its volume.
The step that matters
Fold the flour in lightly. Overmixing after the flour goes in knocks out the air trapped in the whipped whites, so the cake bakes up dense and flat instead of 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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