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 ↓
Silver Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Make the batter
Dissolve the baking soda in the sweet milk and add to the creamed mixture.
Stir in the cream of tartar, flour, salt, and almond flavoring.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites trap air, giving the cake lift and a light crumb.
- Butter
- Creaming with sugar traps air and adds richness and tenderness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, fluffy creamed base.
- Pastry flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together while it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar and milk to help the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter, stabilizing whipped egg whites and aiding rise.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stirring vigorously deflates the whipped whites and loses the air that gives the cake its lift. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined.
“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 almond cake recipes
You might also like
Almond Sponge Cake26 recipes
Almond Custard22 recipes
Almond Wafers22 recipes
Almond Paste Tartlets10 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.