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 ↓
Angel Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Sift the sugar and flour together four times and set aside.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy.
Add the cream of tartar and continue whipping until very stiff.
Gradually add the sugar while beating, using a spoon to mix.
Gently fold in the flour until just combined.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a cake pan and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 40 minutes.
Once baked, turn the cake upside down to cool.
Frost as desired.
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.
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.
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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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into foam to create the airy structure that lifts the whole cake.
- Granulated sugar
- Added gradually to whipped whites to stabilise the foam and sweeten the cake.
- All-purpose flour
- Folded in lightly to give the cake a delicate structure that holds its shape.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the whites, helping them whip to a stronger, more stable foam.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the flour. Folding keeps the air bubbles in the whipped whites intact. Stirring or overmixing deflates the foam, leaving a dense, flat 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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