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 ↓
Lady Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the sifted flour and mix well.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Add the almonds or peach kernels and rose water, mixing until combined.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a pound cake pan.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool and ice with plain icing.
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.
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 pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air that lifts the cake as it bakes.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to hold air bubbles and give the cake a rich, tender crumb.
- Sifted flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as the proteins firm up in the oven.
- Fine sugar
- Creamed with butter for a light texture and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- Almonds or peach kernels
- Add nutty aroma and a bit of texture to the crumb.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stirring too hard deflates the whipped foam that gives the cake its lift. Fold gently with a spatula, cutting through and turning the batter, so the air stays trapped and the cake rises evenly.
“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.
More lady cake recipes
You might also like
Almond Sponge Cake26 recipes
Almond Custard22 recipes
Almond Wafers22 recipes
Coconut Almond Cake17 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.