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Dessert

Mocha Cakes

Mocha Cake is a sweet baked cake flavored with coffee and almonds, topped with a vanilla-sugar icing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Vanilla and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,961 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Mocha Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the cake

  1. Combine one cup sugar, one-half cup butter, two eggs, one-half cup sweet milk, two small cups flour, and three teaspoons baking powder.

  2. Bake in a moderate oven.

Make the icing

  1. For the icing, combine two cups pulverized sugar, two tablespoons butter (warm the butter and mix well with the sugar), one teaspoon vanilla, and one tablespoon boiling water.

  2. Make the icing to the desired thickness.

Finish

  1. Add half a pound of blanched almonds, browned and chopped finely.

  2. Cut the cake into small squares, ice all over, and roll into the chopped nuts.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

852Calories
28 gProtein
27 gFat
121 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 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
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
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.

By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Vanilla + almondtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,961 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

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

  4. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

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

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

Flour
Forms the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Eggs
Add structure and moisture, helping the batter set firmly in the oven.
Baking powder
Releases gas when heated, making the cake rise and become light.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender crumb and richness in both cake and icing.
Sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps keep it moist and tender.
Almonds
Add a toasted, nutty flavour and a crunchy coating when browned.

The step that matters

Make the icing to the desired thickness. Icing thickness depends on the ratio of liquid to sugar. Too much boiling water makes it run off the squares, while too little leaves it stiff and hard to spread and coat the nuts.

“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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