Why it works: Cinnamon and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Cinnamon Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a medium oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Make a soft, smooth dough with milk sponge, butter, sugar, eggs, and flavors.
Let the dough rise twice.
Scale and mold the dough into suitable pieces.
Let the pieces rest for a few minutes.
Roll the pieces out to about ½ inch thick.
Top and bake
Place the rolled dough on baking pans and brush with melted butter.
Let the dough rise again.
Sprinkle a mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon on top.
Add small pieces of butter and chopped almonds on top before baking.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
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.
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Cinnamon + almondtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Milk sponge
- Provides the yeasted base that makes the dough soft and airy as it rises.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness, and browns the surface as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Feeds the rise and adds sweetness and gentle browning to the crust.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the dough hold its shape and crumb.
- Powdered sugar
- Forms a sweet topping that caramelizes lightly in the oven.
The step that matters
Second rise before baking. The dough must rise again after being shaped and brushed. Underproofed dough bakes dense and tight, while overproofed dough can collapse or lose its structure in the oven.
“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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