Name: Star Crystal Cake
Ingredients: one-half pounds powdered sugar; one-half pound of butter; one pound of flour; four eggs; two heaping teaspoonfuls star crystal baking powder

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 ↓

Star Crystal Cake

Ingredients

one-half pounds powdered sugar
one-half pound of butter
one pound of flour
four eggs
two heaping teaspoonfuls star crystal baking powder

Directions

Prepare the batter

Sift the powdered sugar and Star Crystal Baking Powder together.
Rub the yolks of four eggs and powdered sugar into the butter.
Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth.
Fold the beaten whites into the mixture lightly.

Bake and finish

Bake the batter in a hot oven on layer tins.
When the cake is cold, spread icing and grated coconut between the layers and on top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

684Calories

19 gProtein

18 gFat

108 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
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.

By Clarke, Mary Lamson. [from old catalog]. 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. 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.

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).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + eggtop 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

Eggs: Yolks enrich the batter and whites, beaten to a stiff froth, add lift and a light crumb.
Butter: Fat that is rubbed into the sugar and eggs, adding richness and a tender texture.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Star crystal baking powder: Leavening agent that releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise.
Powdered sugar: Sweetens the cake and blends with the butter and yolks to form a smooth base.

The step that matters

Folding in the beaten whites. Whites must be folded in lightly so the air bubbles they hold are not knocked out. Deflated batter bakes flatter and denser, losing the rise the whites provide.

“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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Star Crystal Cake