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 ↓
Our Improved 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 the flour and sugar, then set aside.
Beat the egg yolks thoroughly.
Beat the egg whites until frothy, then add cream of tartar and continue beating until very stiff.
Make the batter
Gently stir in the sugar, then the beaten yolks, and finally the flour.
Pour the batter into a tube pan and bake 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.
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 to a very stiff foam, they give the cake its light, airy structure.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and moisture, and their fats and proteins help make the crumb tender.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and protein that set the cake's structure as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the egg whites, helping them whip to greater stability and volume.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites until very stiff. Under-beaten whites collapse and deflate the batter, while over-beaten whites turn dry and grainy. Stiff, glossy peaks give the cake its lift, so the whites must be beaten to the right point before folding.
“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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