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 ↓
White Fruit Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Separate the whites of twelve eggs.
Whisk the whites of twelve eggs with three cups of pulverized sugar, five cups of flour, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet cream, one teaspoonful of soda, and two teaspoons of cream tartar, or three teaspoons of baking powder.
Flavor the batter with vanilla or other flavoring; add one pound of sweet, two ounces of bitter almonds blanched, one pound of citron cut fine, and one grated coconut; beat the almonds in a mortar with a little rose water.
Flour all the fruits well with a small portion allotted to the recipe.
Bake
Bake slowly.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites provide structure and lift to the batter.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Pulverized sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps give a fine, tender crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and turns lighter.
- Citron
- Adds chewy texture and tangy fruit flavour throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Bake slowly.. Slow, gentle heat lets the large, dense batter cook through evenly without the outside over-browning or the centre staying raw. Rising and setting happen more steadily at a lower temperature.
“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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