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 ↓
Sunshine Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
Cream the yolks and sugar together.
Beat the whites to a stiff froth.
Mix the beaten whites with the yolk mixture.
Sift the flour and baking powder together, then fold into the mixture.
Bake
Pour into ungreased molds and bake as directed for angel cake.
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 + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg 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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps tenderize the yolk mixture when creamed.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake's shape as it sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and fat, and help bind the batter into a smooth mixture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a foam, they trap air that lifts and lightens the cake.
The step that matters
Folding the flour into the whipped whites. Whipped whites hold air bubbles that make the cake rise. Stirring or deflating them vigorously pushes that air out, leaving a dense, flat cake. Fold gently, in a few sweeps, until just combined.
“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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