Why it works: Flour and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Almond Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined.
Fold in the sliced almonds and almond extract.
Bake
Pour the batter into greased pans, about 1 inch deep.
Spread additional sliced almonds evenly over the top.
Dust the almonds with powdered sugar.
Press the almonds gently into the batter with a spoon.
Bake until golden brown.
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 + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to trap air and adds richness and tender texture.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter for a light structure and adds sweetness and browning.
- Eggs
- Add structure as they set and contribute moisture and richness to the crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter so the baking soda reacts and helps the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that lifts the cake.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined.. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense. Mixing only until combined keeps the crumb tender.
“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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