Why it works: Almond and flour 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 ↓
Sunbeam Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Whip butter and sugar to a cream.
Beat in eggs one by one.
Add flour and baking powder, and mix well in dry state.
Add fruit, peel, almonds, and flavouring.
Add two eggs, well beaten, and enough milk to make thin batter.
Bake and finish
Bake in moderate oven for 2 hours.
Fry with lard or butter.
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 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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.
-
Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Egg + almondtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Egg and flour 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
- Butter (in the method)
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add richness and tenderness.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness and, creamed with fat, helps give a light crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and moisture as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure once it is mixed with the liquids.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter to make the cake rise.
The step that matters
Beat in eggs one by one. Adding eggs gradually lets each one emulsify fully into the creamed butter and sugar. Adding them too quickly can cause the batter to curdle and trap less air, leading to a denser cake.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour):
- Almondthe original
- Milletfits about as well
- Macadamia nutfits less well
- Chestnutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour. 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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