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 ↓
Jelly Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the eggs until well combined.
Add the sugar and mix until smooth.
Gradually add the flour, sweet milk, baking soda, and cream of tartar, mixing until just combined.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and spread evenly.
Bake and roll
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, then spread with jelly.
Roll the cake up tightly and slice to serve.
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.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Beaten eggs trap air and give the thin sponge its light, structured crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten that set the cake's structure so it can be rolled.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cake brown and keep it tender.
- Cream of tartar
- An acid that stabilizes the egg foam and works with baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that lifts the cake.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the batter.
The step that matters
Rolling the cake. The cake must be rolled while still warm and flexible, after cooling only slightly. If it cools too long it cracks, and rolling too early can squash the jelly out and tear the sponge.
“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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