Why it works: Vanilla and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,961 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Almond Wafees
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter in a bowl.
Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing.
Add the milk drop by drop, then mix in the bread flour and vanilla.
Bake and shape
Spread the mixture very thinly on a buttered inverted dripping pan using a broad knife.
Sprinkle with chopped almonds and crease into 3-inch squares.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until delicately browned.
Place the pan on the back of the range.
Cut the squares apart with a sharp knife and roll them into tubular or cornucopia shapes while warm.
If the squares become too brittle to roll, place them back in the oven to soften.
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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Vanilla + almondtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to form the rich, tender base of the wafer.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the batter and dissolves smoothly into the creamed butter.
- Bread flour
- Provides the structure that holds the thin wafer together.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to loosen the batter into a spreadable consistency.
- Blanched and chopped almonds
- Add nutty flavour and a crunchy topping to the wafers.
The step that matters
Spreading and baking the batter very thinly. A very thin layer bakes evenly and crisps quickly in a slow oven. Thick spots stay soft or burn at the edges, and the squares then cannot be rolled while warm.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, bread, flour, vanilla):
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Cocoafits less well
- Hazelnutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, bread, flour, vanilla. 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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