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Dessert

Cocoanut and Almond Cake

A moist cake made with cocoanut, almonds, butter, sugar, flour, eggs, milk, lemon, and rose water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 15 ingredients
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Cocoanut and Almond Cake

Why it works: Nutmeg and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,115 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Cocoanut and Almond Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Cream butter and powdered sugar together.

  2. Stir in lemon juice, grated peel, and nutmeg. Mix well.

  3. Add milk, egg whites, and flour alternately.

  4. Stir in grated cocoanut swiftly and lightly.

  5. Bake the batter in four jelly-cake tins.

Prepare the almonds

  1. Blanch the almonds.

  2. Let them cool and dry.

  3. Pound the almonds in a Wedgewood mortar, adding rose-water as you go.

  4. Save about two dozen almonds to shred for the top.

Ice and finish

  1. Stir the almond paste into the icing after it is made.

  2. Spread the icing between the cooled cakes.

  3. Make the top icing a trifle thicker and lay it on heavily.

  4. When it has stiffened somewhat, stick the shredded almonds closely over it.

  5. Set in the oven to harden, but do not let it scorch.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

864Calories
28 gProtein
28 gFat
125 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 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
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Almond1 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.

By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

  1. Nutmeg + almondtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,115 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. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  4. Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. 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 give the batter a tender, rich crumb.
Eggs
Whites add structure and lift to the batter as it bakes.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake together.
Sweet almonds
Pounded into the icing, adding body, richness and nutty flavour.
Grated cocoanut
Adds moisture and chewy texture to the batter.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the batter and, in the icing, helps it set firm.

The step that matters

Set in the oven to harden, but do not let it scorch.. Sugar icing browns quickly at high heat, so gentle warmth is needed to firm the surface without darkening or burning it.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, almond, rose, flour, egg, milk):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Capersfits less well
  4. Allspicefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, almond, rose, flour, egg, milk. 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.

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