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Dessert

Kwarezimal

A Maltese almond cake made with blanched almonds, flour, sugar, cinnamon, citrus rinds, and orange flower water.

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Why it works: Almond and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Kwarezimal

Oven190°C/375°F/gas 5
Timeabout 20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the dough

  1. Lightly toast the almonds and grind them coarsely.

  2. Mix the ground almonds with the flour, sugar, cinnamon, citrus rinds, and a little orange flower water.

  3. Add just enough water to make a stiff dough.

  4. Knead lightly until well amalgamated and shape into ovals, approximately 17.5 cm long, 5 cm wide and 2 cm thick.

Bake

  1. Place on greased and floured baking trays and bake at 190°C/375°F/gas 5 for about 20 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

653Calories
16 gProtein
2 gFat
144 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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Orange Flower1 medium (131g)62
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Waternot in our table0
Tangerinenot 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. Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,514 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,634 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Cinnamon + orangetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,673 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,125 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Blanched almonds
Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the cake.
Plain flour
Gives the dough structure so the ovals hold their shape while baking.
Caster sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown in the oven.
Honey
Adds moisture and sweetness, helping the cake stay tender.

The step that matters

Adding just enough water to the dough. A stiff dough holds its shape in the oven. Too much water makes the mixture slack and spreading, while too little leaves it crumbly and hard to bind.

Swap the tangerine

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

  1. Raisinfits better
  2. Vanillafits better
  3. Blueberryfits better
  4. Tangerinethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against almond, flour, sugar, cinnamon, orange, lemon. 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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