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 ↓
Marshmallow Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the cake
Beat the egg whites very lightly.
Cut in the powdered sugar with a broad-bladed knife.
Sift the flour three times and sift the cream of tartar into it.
Cut the flour mixture into the eggs and sugar, then beat and add the vanilla.
Bake in three deep, ungreased layer pans lined with brown paper at 400°F (200°C).
Make the filling
For the filling, boil the sugar and water until it ropes.
Just before removing from heat, add the marshmallows and stir until melted.
Pour the mixture gradually into the well-beaten egg whites and beat continuously until cold.
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
- Provide the airy foam structure that lifts and sets the cake.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the batter and adds fine sugar that helps keep the foam stable.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure once baked, setting the crumb.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the egg whites, stabilizing the foam so it holds its volume.
- Marshmallows
- Add sweetness and a soft, chewy body to the filling when melted.
The step that matters
Cut in the flour mixture gently. Folding rather than beating keeps the air trapped in the egg white foam. Overmixing deflates it, leaving a dense, flat cake.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, flour, cream):
- Raisinfits about as well
- Vanillathe original
- Figfits less well
- Strawberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, 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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