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Dessert

Arabian Coffee Cake

A layered cake with a coffee filling, made from egg whites, sugar, flour, baking powder, and coffee.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Vanilla and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Arabian Coffee Cake

Oven375°F
Time25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Beat egg whites stiff and beat in sugar.

  2. Beat until whites form stiff peaks, then set aside.

  3. Sift flour and measure 3 cups of sifted flour.

  4. Resift 3 times with baking powder and salt, then set aside.

  5. Cream shortening and beat in sugar.

  6. When blended, beat in tablespoon boiling water.

  7. Beat light and when fluffy add vanilla.

  8. Add milk and cold water alternately with flour mixture.

  9. Mix very lightly, then fold in egg whites.

Bake the layers

  1. Place in two buttered, floured layer cake pans.

  2. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.

Make the coffee filling

  1. Mix flour, cornstarch and sugar.

  2. Pour very strong coffee slowly over flour mixture and salt, and stir smooth.

  3. Cook over low heat until thick.

  4. Add yolks, then cook again until thick and smooth.

  5. Add butter and vanilla.

Assemble and frost

  1. When cold, spread between layers of cake.

  2. Frost with confectioners sugar icing, using very strong hot coffee for the liquid in icing.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

965Calories
27 gProtein
40 gFat
121 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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. Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

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

  2. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Egg whites
Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air and give the cake lift and a light structure.
Flour
Builds the cake's structure as its starches set during baking.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, helping the layers rise in the oven.
White vegetable shortening
Coats flour particles, tenderizing the crumb and adding richness.
Sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps keep the crumb soft and moist.
Milk
Adds moisture and hydrates the flour so the batter can set.

The step that matters

Fold in the egg whites. Mix very lightly and fold rather than stir, so the air trapped in the whipped egg whites is not deflated, which would lose the cake's lift.

Swap the vanilla

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

  1. Vanillathe original
  2. Raisinfits about as well
  3. Figfits less well
  4. Blueberryfits less well

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