Name: Almond Custard Cake
Ingredients: one pound of butter; one pound of sugar; one pound of flour; one pint of sweet cream; one pound of soft shell almonds blanched; two cups of sugar; one cup of butter; two cups of flour; one cup of milk; one pound of almonds blanched; twelve eggs; four eggs beaten to a froth; four spoons of sugar; six eggs; three teaspoons of baking powder; one coifee-cup of thick sour cream; two eggs

Why it works: Flour and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

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.

Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,245 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Butter: Creams with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender crumb.
Eggs: Provide structure and richness as they set, and add moisture to the batter.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter, helping the layers rise.
Flour: Forms the structure of the cake as it bakes.
Almonds: Add nutty flavor and a pleasant texture to the custard and icing.
Sour cream: Adds moisture and tang to the icing, balancing the sweetness.

The step that matters

Folding the beaten eggs into the cream mixture. Folding gently preserves the air whipped into the eggs; stirring hard would deflate the froth and leave the layers dense.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7

Almond Custard Cake