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 ↓
Imperial 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the beaten egg yolks and mix well.
Stir in the milk and any desired flavoring.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Sift the cream of tartar with the flour and gradually add to the mixture.
Fold in the egg whites gently.
Add the sliced citron and chopped almonds.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich the batter and whipped whites lighten its crumb as they expand in the oven.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and tender texture.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it sets in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps create a light, fluffy texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to release gas, helping the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter and stabilizes whipped egg whites while reacting with baking soda to aid rising.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold the air that lifts the cake. Stirring them vigorously deflates the foam, so fold gently with a spatula until 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.
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