Why it works: Coconut and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,093 recipes. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓
White Fruit 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the sweet milk and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
Make the batter
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Fold in the egg whites gently until incorporated.
Stir in the grated coconut, chopped almonds, and sliced citron.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Coconut + almondtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,093 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + coconuttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,648 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the cake a tender crumb and flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps trap air when creamed with butter for lightness.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Egg whites
- Add structure and lift, setting as the cake bakes.
- Jordan almonds
- Add texture and nutty flavor through the crumb.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Egg whites hold air that gives the cake its lift. Folding gently keeps that air in the batter, while vigorous stirring deflates it and leaves a denser cake.
Swap the coconut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Coconutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg, almond. 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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