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Dessert

Almond Souffle

A light, airy dessert made with almond macaroons, cream, sugar, brandy, and beaten egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Almond Souffle

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

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.

Prepare the base

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a saucepan, heat the cream with the powdered sugar and brandy until scalding hot.

  3. Pour the hot cream over the crushed macaroons and let the mixture cool.

  4. Once cool, beat in the egg yolks.

Assemble and bake

  1. Place paper cases on a baking sheet.

  2. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then quickly fold them into the macaroon mixture.

  3. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, filling them no more than halfway.

  4. Bake in the preheated oven until light brown.

Serve

  1. Serve immediately on a pretty dish.

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

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

  2. Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,635 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  3. Almond + creamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  4. Almond + brandytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,969 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  5. Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,340 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Yolks enrich the base and whites, whipped to stiff peaks, lighten and raise the soufflé as it bakes.
Almond macaroons
Crushed macaroons give the mixture its almond flavour and body.
Cream
Adds richness and moisture, giving the soufflé a soft, tender texture.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the base and dissolves easily into the hot cream.
Brandy
Adds aroma and a background flavour that complements the almonds.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Whites hold air only while whipped; overmixing deflates them, and the soufflé then bakes flat and dense. Fold gently and bake promptly.

“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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