Name: Hazelnut Torte
Ingredients: 10 egg whites; 1 cup caster sugar; 200 g (7 oz ) hazelnut meal; 250 ml (8 fl oz) cream; ½ tsp instant coffee powder; ½ tsp cocoa powder

Why it works: Coffee and cocoa powder work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 541 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Hazelnut Torte

Oven230 °C (450 °F), then 180 °C (350 °F)

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cake

Preheat oven to very hot—about 230 °C (450 °F).
Whip egg whites with electric mixer to soft peaks. While whipping, very gradually add the caster sugar, and continue whipping to stiff peaks.
Gently fold hazelnut meal into the beaten egg whites.
Line a 40 × 25 cm (16 × 10‑inch) baking pan with foil.
Spread mixture evenly into tray.
Do not bang the tray—it is important to keep as much air in the cake as possible.

Bake and cool

Once cake is in oven, immediately turn temperature down to 180 °C (350 °F). Bake for 20 minutes, or until cake is sealed and springs back when touched lightly with finger.
Allow cake to cool in the tray. It should only be about 1 inch high.

Assemble and decorate

Once cooled, cut cake into 3 equal sections to be stacked on top of each other.
In a bowl, dissolve coffee and cocoa into cream.
Whip cream to stiff peaks.
Layer cream between the sections of cake to make a log.
Decorate top with extra cream.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

333Calories

8 gProtein

19 gFat

31 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Hazelnut	not in our table	0
Coffee	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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

Coffee + cocoa powdertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together541 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Hazelnut + coffeetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together86 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, earthy).
Hazelnut + cocoa powdertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together93 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream + cocoa powdertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together826 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg whites: Whipped into a foam that traps air, giving the cake its light, airy structure.
Caster sugar: Stabilises the whipped egg whites and sweetens the cake.
Hazelnut meal: Provides the base body and nutty flavour of the cake, with fat contributing tenderness.
Cream: Adds moisture and richness to the filling and topping.

The step that matters

Do not bang the tray. Knocking the tray deflates the whipped egg white foam and releases the trapped air that makes the cake rise and stay light.

Swap the hazelnut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, cream, coffee, cocoa powder):

Hazelnutthe original
Cocoafits about as well
Almondfits less well
Walnutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, cream, coffee, cocoa powder. 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.