Why it works: Almond and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Parisian Tartlets
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Cream the butter and sugar together until thick and smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Mix the cream and cornflour until smooth, then stir into the mixture.
Add the ground almonds, cake crumbs, cinnamon, and lemon juice, and mix well.
Fill and bake
Line twelve tartlet molds with short pastry.
Fill the molds with the mixture and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.
When about three-quarters baked, sprinkle with castor sugar.
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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Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the filling a light, tender texture and rich flavour.
- Eggs
- Bind the filling and set during baking to give it structure.
- Cornflour
- Thickens the filling so it holds its shape rather than running when baked.
- Ground almonds
- Add moisture and nutty richness, keeping the filling tender.
- Cake crumbs
- Add body and soak up moisture, giving the filling a softer, cake-like texture.
- Castor sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, sprinkled on top, caramelises to a golden finish.
The step that matters
Sprinkling the sugar at three-quarters baked. Sugar added too early over-browns or burns before the filling sets, while adding it too late leaves it unmelted on the surface. Timing it at about three-quarters baked lets the top caramelise evenly as the custard-like filling finishes setting.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, almond, egg, cream, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, almond, egg, cream, cinnamon. 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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