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 ↓
Sunshine 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.
Prepare
Sift and measure the flour and sugar, setting them aside.
Beat the egg yolks thoroughly.
Make the batter
Beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the beaten yolks into the egg whites.
Add the flour and sugar mixture, folding gently until combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a pan and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 35 to 50 minutes.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into stiff peaks, they form the airy foam that lifts the cake as it bakes.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and tenderness and help bind the batter once folded into the whites.
- Flour
- Provides the starch structure that sets the cake's crumb as it bakes.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps stabilize the whipped egg white foam.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the egg whites, helping them whip to a stable, stiff foam.
The step that matters
Folding the yolks and flour into the whites. Whipped egg white foam collapses easily. Folding gently, rather than stirring, keeps air trapped in the batter so the cake rises light instead of dense.
“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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