Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Genoese Pastry
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.
Prepare
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, ensuring it does not boil or burn.
Prepare a tin about 2 inches deep.
Cut a piece of paper to stand 2 inches higher than the tin.
Line the tin with the paper.
Butter the paper with a brush dipped in the melted butter.
In a quart basin, break the eggs and add the castor sugar.
Prepare a saucepan of boiling water large enough to rest the basin on.
Place the basin on the saucepan.
Make the batter
Whip the eggs and sugar for 20 minutes until stiff, avoiding excessive heat.
Remove the basin from the saucepan.
Sift the flour through a fine sieve into a plate.
Stir the melted butter into the egg and sugar mixture with a wooden spoon.
Gradually fold in the flour until thoroughly mixed.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake and serve
Bake for 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C) until pale brown; it should spring back when pressed.
Remove the cake from the tin.
Turn it upside down on a wire rack to cool.
Once cool, cut into shapes with a cutter.
Use the shapes to make jam sandwiches.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 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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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs
- Whipped to a stiff foam that gives the sponge its light, airy structure.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch that sets during baking to form the cake's structure.
- Melted butter
- Adds richness and a tender crumb while keeping the sponge moist.
- Castor sugar
- Stabilises the whisked eggs and contributes sweetness and fine texture.
The step that matters
Whipping the eggs and sugar. Eggs must be whipped until thick and stiff while kept warm but not hot; this traps air that makes the sponge rise. Overheating can cook the eggs, and adding butter or flour too roughly can knock out the air.
“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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