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 ↓
Almond Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the sugar into the egg yolks.
Add the cinnamon and almond paste, alternating with the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Beat the mixture for 3 minutes.
Shape and bake
Flour your hands thickly and take a small ball of the almond mixture, then flatten it into a small, thin cake.
Place the cakes on buttered paper in baking pans.
Bake in a very hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until lightly colored.
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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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Rose + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together892 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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
- Almonds or almond paste
- Provides the main body and nutty flavor of the cakes.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cakes brown as they bake.
- Eggs
- Egg whites add lightness and help bind the almond mixture together.
- Powdered cinnamon
- Adds warm aroma and spice to the cakes.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Egg whites must be stiffly beaten and added alternately with the almond paste so the mixture stays light. Overbeating or deflating them makes the cakes dense and flat.
“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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