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Almond Butter Christmas Cake

A moist almond-flavored Christmas cake baked in two 9-inch pans and frosted with boiled frosting.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Almond Butter Christmas Cake

Oven375°F
Time25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift together three times.

  2. Cream butter thoroughly.

  3. Add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy.

  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each.

  5. Add nuts and raisins and beat well.

  6. Add flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth.

  7. Add vanilla.

Bake and finish

  1. Bake in two greased 9-inch layer pans in moderate oven (375 °F) 25 minutes, or until done.

  2. Spread boiled frosting (see recipe) between layers and on top and sides of cake.

  3. Decorate top of cake with wreath of holly, using pieces of maraschino cherries or red cinnamon candies for berries, and slices of angelica or citron for leaves and stems.

  4. Or decorate with poinsettias made of candied cherries. Slice cherries in rings, cut rings in half, and arrange to form petals of poinsettias.

  5. If desired, lemon butter frosting (see recipe) may be used.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

914Calories
28 gProtein
27 gFat
137 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Almond + raisintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  3. Almond + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,961 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,673 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Cake flour
Provides the starch and gluten structure that holds the cake's crumb together.
Butter
Creaming with sugar traps air and adds tenderness and richness to the crumb.
Sugar
Creamed with butter to trap air for lightness and adds sweetness and browning.
Eggs
Add structure as they set and help bind the batter while adding moisture and richness.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, causing the cake to rise and become light.
Milk
Adds moisture and hydrates the flour to form a smooth, tender batter.

The step that matters

Creaming the butter and sugar. Beating until light and fluffy traps air bubbles that expand in the oven. Under-creaming yields a dense cake, while the batter should be beaten smooth but not overmixed after flour is added.

Swap the raisin

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

  1. Figfits about as well
  2. Raisinthe original
  3. Coconutfits about as well
  4. Peachfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, egg, almond, milk, vanilla. 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.

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