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 ↓
Macaroon Tarts
Ingredients
Directions
Make the almond filling
Combine quarter pound almond paste, half cup sugar, whites of two eggs, and three or four tablespoonfuls of water; grate almond paste, add sugar, egg whites, and water.
Fill and bake the tarts
Put mixture into shells of best short crust, add a small teaspoonful of raspberry jam.
Spread one teaspoonful of paste over the jam.
Dust powdered sugar over the tarts.
Bake in a moderate oven for a quarter of an hour.
Make the dough and topping
Combine two cups sugar, one cup butter, three cups flour, two eggs, leaving out the white of one egg.
Roll dough thin and cut into squares.
Spread the white of egg on top, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and press a bleached almond or raisin in the center.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| 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.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
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Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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
- Almond paste
- Provides the rich almond flavour and a soft, chewy filling texture.
- Eggs
- Egg whites bind the almond filling and help the topping set and brown.
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the dough tender and rich.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough so it can be rolled and cut.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and dough and helps the topping brown.
The step that matters
Baking the tarts for the stated time. Sugar and egg whites brown quickly, so the tops can darken before the filling sets. Watching the color helps prevent scorching while the almond filling cooks through.
“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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