Why it works: Flour and almond 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
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
To blanch the almonds, pour boiling water over them, slip off the skins, and dry in the sun or a warm oven.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the butter mixture.
Add the pounded almonds, rose water, and essence of bitter almonds, mixing well.
Lightly fold in the sifted flour and baking powder until just combined.
Pour the batter into a loaf pan or two smaller pans.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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.
-
Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 whipped to stiff peaks give the cake its light, airy structure.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and a tender crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and stays open-textured.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps create a light texture.
- Blanched almonds
- Add nutty flavor, moisture, and body to the crumb.
The step that matters
Folding the egg whites into the butter mixture. Whites hold air only when whipped to stiff peaks. Folding gently preserves that air; vigorous stirring deflates it, leading to a denser cake that rises less in the oven.
“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.
More almond cake recipes
You might also like
Almond Sponge Cake26 recipes
Almond Custard22 recipes
Almond Wafers22 recipes
Almond Paste Tartlets10 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.