Name: Cake Diamonds Soaked with Syrup
Ingredients: 1 cup Matzo meal; 1 cup Matzo cake meal; 1/2 cup Sugar; 1/2 cup Blanched almonds or walnuts finely ground; 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon Pn Ground cloves; 1/2 cup Vegetable oil; 1 large Egg; 3/4 cup Cold water; 16 Whole almonds blanched or Almonds unblanched

Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Cake Diamonds Soaked with Syrup

Oven375°F

Time40 to 45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

For the dough, combine the matzo meal, cake meal, ½ cup sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium sized bowl.
Add the oil, egg, and ¾ cup water, and mix very well to form a stiff dough.
Knead the dough with your hands a few times to complete the mixing.
Evenly press the dough into a greased 8‑inch square baking pan.

Cut and decorate

Use a knife to cut the dough into diamonds.
First, cut the dough crosswise into about 4 even rows.
Then make diagonal, parallel cuts through the rows.
(If desired, cut the dough into squares instead).
Press a whole almond into the center of each piece.

Bake and make the syrup

Bake the cake in a preheated 375°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it is browned and firm.
Meanwhile, prepare the syrup.
Put the sugar and water into a small saucepan.
Stir over medium‑high heat until the sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a boil; then boil the syrup, uncovered and undisturbed, for 8 minutes.
Stir in the honey and lemon juice.
Remove the syrup from the heat, and set it aside to cool slightly.

Soak and store

When the cake has finished baking, remove it from the oven, and recut the pieces.
Pour the syrup evenly over the hot cake.
Let the cake rest for several hours to completely absorb the syrup.
After the syrup has been absorbed, cover the cake with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and store it at room temperature.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

292Calories

7 gProtein

22 gFat

18 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Cloves	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Cake	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	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.

Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,514 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Almond + clovetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,605 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,679 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

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

Matzo meal: Forms the bulk of the dough, giving the cake its structure as it bakes.
Vegetable oil: Adds moisture and tenderness, keeping the baked cake soft rather than dry.
Egg: Binds the dough and helps hold the cut pieces together during baking.
Sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps it brown as it bakes.
Ground almonds: Add richness and body to the dough, with a nutty flavor.

The step that matters

Boiling the syrup for exactly 8 minutes, undisturbed. Boiling concentrates the sugar so the syrup soaks in and sets as a glaze rather than staying runny. Stirring while it boils can cause sugar crystals to form, leaving the syrup grainy.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, almond, cinnamon, egg):

Nutmegfits better
Cardamomfits better
Allspicefits about as well
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, almond, cinnamon, egg. 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.

Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes

Clove Cake53 recipes

Cinnamon Cake42 recipes

Almond Sponge Cake26 recipes

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Cake Diamonds Soaked with Syrup