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Dessert

German Puffs

A sweet almond and egg-based puff cake baked in cups, flavored with brandy or orange-flower water and garnished with candied citron.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,125 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

German Puffs

Oven, in the book's wordsA slow oven

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

  1. Pound the sweet and bitter almonds to a smooth paste.

  2. Gradually mix in the egg yolks and egg whites.

  3. Dissolve the butter and sugar in the cream over low heat, then pour it hot into the egg mixture while stirring briskly.

  4. Once cool, add the brandy or orange-flower water.

Bake

  1. Butter some cups thickly and add a few slices of candied citron or orange rind.

  2. Pour the mixture into the cups and bake for 20 minutes at 300°F (150°C).

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

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

  2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

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

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

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

  5. Brandy + orangetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,706 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Sweet almonds
Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the batter once pounded to a paste.
Egg yolks
Add richness and help bind the batter as it bakes and sets.
Egg whites
Add lightness and help the puffs rise and set in the oven.
Fresh butter
Adds richness and fat, giving a tender texture and rich flavour.
Rich cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the puffs soft and tender.

The step that matters

Adding the hot butter-sugar cream to the eggs. Pouring hot cream into eggs while stirring briskly keeps the eggs from scrambling in lumps and gives a smooth, even batter that bakes evenly.

Swap the orange

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

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Raisinfits better
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against almond, egg, cream, butter, sugar, brandy. 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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