Name: Almond Cake
Ingredients: 2 ounces blanched bitter almonds, pounded very fine; 7 ounces flour, sifted and dried; 10 eggs; 1 pound powdered loaf sugar, sifted; 2 tablespoons rose water; 2 ounces shelled bitter almonds or peach kernels

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

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

2 ounces blanched bitter almonds, pounded very fine
7 ounces flour, sifted and dried
10 eggs
1 pound powdered loaf sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons rose water
2 ounces shelled bitter almonds or peach kernels

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the almonds

Scald the shelled almonds in hot water, then peel them.
Place the peeled almonds in cold water, dry them, and pound them one by one in a mortar until fine and smooth.

Make the batter

Separate the eggs, placing yolks in one bowl and whites in another.
Beat the whites until light.
Beat the yolks, then gradually add the sugar to the yolks, beating well.
Mix in the pounded almonds and rose water.
Fold half of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.
Gradually add half of the flour until it bubbles on top.
Fold in the remaining egg whites and the rest of the flour very lightly.

Bake and ice

Butter a large square tin pan and pour the mixture into the pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until done.
Beat the whites of 3 eggs with 24 teaspoons of powdered sugar and 8 drops of lemon essence to make icing.
Once the cake is cool, mark it in small squares with a knife.
Cover the cake with icing and decorate with nonpareils.
When the icing is dry, cut the cake into squares carefully.

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.

Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,465 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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: Whites trapped by beating give the cake its light, airy structure as it bakes.
Flour: Sets the cake's structure once heated, holding the airy batter in shape.
Powdered loaf sugar: Sweetens the batter and helps the yolks become smooth and thick when beaten.
Blanched bitter almonds: Provide the nutty, almond flavour and a tender, moist crumb.