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 ↓
Diet Bread Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a warm oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Boil the water and sugar together until dissolved.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks until light and fluffy.
Pour the sugar mixture into the egg yolks and whisk until cold, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the sifted flour until well combined.
Bake and finish
Line square tins with white paper and fill them three-quarters full with the batter.
Sprinkle a little sugar on top and bake in a warm oven at 350°F (175°C).
Once baked, remove the cakes from the molds while hot.
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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Sugar + eggtop 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 yolks
- Whisked until light, they trap air and add richness and structure to the cake.
- Sifted flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together once it sets in the oven.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps keep the crumb tender and moist.
The step that matters
Whisking the hot sugar syrup into the yolks. Pouring in the syrup while it is hot can scramble the yolks, so it must be whisked in gradually and cooled to keep the foam light and smooth.
“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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