Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. 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.
Make the batter
Add the sugar to the beaten egg whites and beat lightly until well mixed.
Sift the cream of tartar with the flour a fifth time.
Add the flour to the egg mixture and beat again.
Bake and finish
Line a turk's-head pan with paper, without greasing it.
Fill the pan no more than ¾ full or use 2 small pans.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 40 minutes.
Test for doneness with a broom whisk.
When done, turn the cake upside down and let it cool.
Once cool, ice the bottom with Egg-Icing.
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 + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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 + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 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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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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 to stiff peaks, they trap air and provide the cake's light, airy structure.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and stabilizes the whipped egg whites, keeping the foam from collapsing.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and protein that set the cake's structure once baked.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the egg whites, strengthening the foam and helping it hold its volume.
The step that matters
Folding in the flour. Flour must be added gently and quickly to the whipped egg whites. Beating it in hard knocks out the air that gives angel cake its rise, leaving a dense, flat result.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, flour, cream):
- Raisinfits about as well
- Vanillathe original
- Figfits less well
- Strawberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, flour, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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