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 ↓
White Lady-cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the egg whites to a high froth.
Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat.
Cream the butter and add the sweet milk mixed with the saleratus.
Combine the egg mixture with the butter and milk.
Add enough sifted flour to make a thick batter.
Stir in the orange-flower water or lemon extract.
Fold in the almond paste until well combined.
Bake and finish
Line a square tin pan with buttered paper and pour in the mixture to a depth of 1 inch.
Bake in a quick oven at 400°F (200°C) for half an hour.
Remove from the pan when hot, let cool, and then remove the paper.
Turn the cake upside down on the bottom of the pan and frost the side that was down.
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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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Orange + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Wheat + almondtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a froth, they trap air that lifts the batter and gives a light crumb.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
- Sweet milk
- Supplies liquid that hydrates the flour and helps form the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the milk to release gas that helps the cake rise.
- Wheat flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
- Blanched almonds
- Add richness and a dense, moist texture to the crumb.
The step that matters
Fold in the almond paste until well combined. Folding gently keeps the air whipped into the egg whites; overmixing deflates the batter and yields a dense cake.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, milk, wheat, flour, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, milk, wheat, 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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