Why it works: Almond and walnut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 993 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
White Nut 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.
Cream the butter and sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy.
Add the milk and mix well.
Sift together the flour and baking powder, then gradually add to the butter mixture.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Add almond extract to taste and mix in the walnuts.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-35 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.
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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Almond + walnuttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together993 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 add lightness and help the cake rise.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and gives the cake a tender crumb and rich flavour.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter, it adds sweetness and helps create a fine, airy texture.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.
- English walnuts
- Add crunch and a nutty flavour that contrasts with the soft crumb.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stirring vigorously deflates the whipped whites and loses the air that lightens the cake. Gentle folding keeps the batter airy so it rises evenly.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, milk, flour, almond):
- Pistachiofits better
- Hazelnutfits about as well
- Cashew nutfits about as well
- Walnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, milk, flour, almond. 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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