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 Sponge 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
Sift the flour into a bowl.
Blanch the sweet and bitter almonds in scalding water, renewing the water as needed until the skins are off.
Wash the almonds in cold water, mix them, and dry them.
Pound the almonds into a fine paste, adding water or egg white to prevent boiling.
Make the batter
Beat the egg whites and yolks separately until smooth and thick.
Gradually mix in the powdered sugar and pounded almonds into the eggs.
Gently fold in the flour and baking powder until just combined.
Butter a deep square pan and pour the mixture into it.
Bake and finish
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until risen and thoroughly done.
Once cool, cover with icing flavored with rose-water or almond.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Flour and egg 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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites and yolks trap air, giving the cake its light, risen structure.
- Fine flour
- Provides the starch that sets during baking to give the cake its body.
- Sweet almonds
- Pounded into a paste, they add moisture, richness and nutty flavor to the crumb.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a deeper, aromatic almond flavor in small amounts.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps stabilize the beaten eggs and tender crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise in the oven.
The step that matters
Folding in the flour and baking powder. Overmixing knocks out the air beaten into the eggs, so the cake rises less and turns dense. Fold gently and stop once just combined.
“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.
You might also like
Almond Custard22 recipes
Almond Wafers22 recipes
Coconut Almond Cake17 recipes
Almond Paste Tartlets10 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.