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 ↓
Never Fail Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Cream butter and sugar.
Add milk.
Add beaten yolks.
Add flour.
Stir thoroughly and add well-beaten whites.
Flavor with Royce's extract.
Stir evenly and bake in gem tins in a moderate oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 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 |
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.
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps the creamed butter hold air for a lighter crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cakes rise in the oven.
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and bind the batter; well-beaten whites add lift and structure.
The step that matters
Add well-beaten whites. Folding in the whites gently and stirring only until evenly combined keeps the air they hold, which gives the cakes their lift. Overmixing knocks that air out and leaves a denser cake.
“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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