Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Twelve eggs, one pint pulverized sugar, one cup flour (not sifted), one small teaspoon salt, one heaping teaspoon baking powder, essence of lemon for flavor.
Make the batter
Beat the egg whites to a very stiff froth and add the sugar.
Beat the yolks, strain them, and add them to the whites and sugar; beat the whole mixture thoroughly.
Mix the baking powder and salt into the flour and add this last, stirring in small quantities at a time.
Bake
Bake in a six-quart pan in a moderate oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Cake | not in our table | 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.
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.
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + teatop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,204 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Egg + teatop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together821 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whipped whites trap air to form the light, airy structure of the cake.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps stabilize the whipped egg foam.
- Flour (in the method)
- Provides structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise.
The step that matters
Adding the flour. The flour is added last and stirred in small amounts so the whipped egg foam is not deflated. The foam holds the air that gives the cake its rise, so overmixing causes a dense result.
“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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