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Dessert

Almond Cheesecakes.

A baked almond-based cheesecake flavored with orange flower water and lemon peel.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Orange and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Almond Cheesecakes.

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.

Prepare the almonds

  1. Soak the almonds in cold water overnight.

  2. Blanch the almonds in cold water, then dry them with a clean cloth.

  3. Grind the almonds finely with the orange flower water.

Make the filling

  1. In a bowl, beat 6 eggs, leaving out 4 egg whites, until well mixed.

  2. Melt the butter and add the grated lemon peel, then combine with the almond mixture and beaten eggs.

Bake

  1. Line patty pans with thin puff pastry and fill them with the mixture.

  2. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,634 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,125 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Almond + lemontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,245 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,227 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Almonds
Form the main body of the filling, giving it a nutty flavour and a dense, tender texture.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and set when baked, giving the cheesecake its structure.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, contributing to a smooth, tender texture.
Orange flower water
Adds a floral aroma that flavours the almond mixture.
Thin puff paste
Forms the crust that holds the filling in its patty pans.

The step that matters

Bake until set. Baking just until the filling sets keeps it tender; overbaking causes the eggs to tighten and turn dry and rubbery.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, egg, butter, lemon):

  1. Orangethe original
  2. Figfits about as well
  3. Coconutfits about as well
  4. Raspberryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against almond, egg, butter, lemon. 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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