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 ↓
Almond Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Pound the almonds in a mortar with rose water.
Sift and warm the flour.
Warm the sugar and break the eggs into it, leaving out 7 egg whites.
Mix and bake
Beat the mixture for 1 hour.
Stir in the flour and almonds until combined.
Bake in a pan lined with buttered paper at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
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.
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Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Flour and egg 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
- Eggs
- Whipped into the sugar mixture to trap air, giving the cake lift and a light structure.
- Almonds
- Provide the bulk and rich, moist texture of the cake.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps stabilise the beaten eggs.
- Flour
- Gives the cake its set structure once baked.
The step that matters
Beating the egg and sugar mixture for 1 hour. Long beating incorporates air into the eggs, which expands in the oven and gives the cake its rise. Under-beating leaves a dense cake, so the mixture should look thick and pale before the flour goes in.
“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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