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
Make the batter
Prepare the cake batter as you would for a spice cake, but omit the spices.
Fold in the chopped almonds and almond extract.
Flour the chopped almonds to prevent sinking.
Bake and finish
Bake according to spice cake instructions.
Once cooled, cover the cake with boiled icing.
Sprinkle sliced almonds on top for garnish.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Builds the cake's structure as its proteins and starch set during baking.
- Chopped almonds
- Add nutty flavor and a crunchy texture to the crumb.
- Almond extract
- Adds a concentrated almond aroma to the batter.
The step that matters
Flouring the chopped almonds. Heavy nuts sink to the bottom of batter while it bakes. A light coating of flour helps them grip the batter and stay suspended throughout the cake.
“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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