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 Roll
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, milk, and salt, mixing until smooth.
Bake and roll
Pour the batter onto a greased baking sheet to form a thin layer.
Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly golden.
Spread jelly over the warm cake and roll it up carefully.
Let it cool before slicing.
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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Cream + milktop 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
- Whipped with sugar, they trap air that gives the thin cake its light structure.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and protein that set into the cake's structure as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps stabilise the whipped eggs.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter, stabilising the egg foam and helping the cake stay tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to release gas, helping the cake rise.
- Jelly
- Adds sweetness and fruity moisture filling the rolled cake.
The step that matters
Bake until just lightly golden. A thin layer bakes quickly, and overbaking dries it out, making it crack when rolled. Once it is pulled from the oven, it must be rolled while warm and pliable.
“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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