Name: To Make a Bride Cake.
Ingredients: 4 pounds fine flour, well dried; 4 pounds butter; 2 pounds loaf sugar; ¼ ounce mace; ¼ ounce nutmeg; 8 eggs for every pound of flour; 4 pounds currants, washed and dried; 1 pound sweet almonds, blanched and thinly sliced; 1 pound citron; 1 pound candied orange; 1 pound candied lemon; ½ pint brandy

Why it works: Nutmeg and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,115 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

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.

Nutmeg + almondtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,115 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,557 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,623 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,245 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour: Provides the structure that holds the rich batter together as it bakes.
Butter: Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavour, and helps trap air when creamed.
Eggs: Egg whites add lift and structure, while yolks add richness and binding.
Loaf sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, creamed texture with the butter.
Currants: Add fruitiness and moisture in pockets throughout the cake.
Sweet almonds: Add texture and a nutty flavour to the crumb.

The step that matters

Whipping the egg whites to a strong froth. Well-whipped whites trap air that gives the cake lift. If they are under-whipped or deflated when folded in, the cake will be dense.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, mace, nutmeg, egg, almond):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, mace, nutmeg, egg, almond. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

To Make a Bride Cake.