Which of the following ingredients is creamed together in the cake method?

In the cake-making process, particularly when using the creaming method, the correct combination of ingredients to cream together is shortening and sugar. Creaming involves beating the fat (usually shortening or butter) together with sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This process is essential because it incorporates air into the batter, which helps to create a tender and well-risen cake.

This aeration process is vital for the leavening of the cake as it sets up a structure that allows the cake to rise during baking. The sugar granules also help to stabilize the fat and can contribute to the texture of the finished cake.

The other options either do not represent the correct method for creaming or involve ingredients that are not typically combined at this stage. For example, while flour is an important ingredient in cake recipes, it is usually added later in the mixing process, not creamed with sugar. Water and eggs serve different roles in the cake's wet mixture, while baking powder is a leavening agent that is also incorporated into the dry ingredients instead of creaming with butter.