Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until well combined.
Add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Sift in the flour and baking powder, then mix until just combined.
Pour in the hot water and beat until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden.
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 + 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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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
- Eggs
- Whipped with sugar, they trap air that gives the cake its light structure.
- Sugar
- Beaten with the eggs to create a light, fluffy base and add sweetness and browning.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten that set the cake's structure as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the batter rise and become airy.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Air whipped into the eggs and sugar is what lifts the batter. Under-beating leaves a dense cake, while the flour should be mixed only until just combined to avoid toughening.
“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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