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Dessert

Fruit Filling

A fruit filling made with citron, raisins, almonds, figs, egg whites, and sugar, used between cake layers.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Fruit Filling

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. In a bowl, combine the chopped citron, raisins, almonds, and figs.

  2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then gradually add the sugar.

  3. Mix the beaten egg whites thoroughly into the chopped ingredients.

Assemble

  1. Spread the filling between layers of hot cake to slightly cook the egg.

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. Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  2. Almond + figtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together519 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Raisin + figtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together737 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg whites
Beaten to stiff peaks, they give the filling a light, airy, soft texture.
Sugar
Added to the beaten whites, it sweetens the filling and helps stabilize the foam.
Figs
Chopped fruit that adds moisture and sweetness to the filling.
Almonds
Chopped nuts that add body and a rich, nutty flavor.

The step that matters

Spreading the filling between hot cake layers. The filling must be folded in gently so the foam is not deflated, and the heat of the cake gently cooks the raw egg white. Spreading it too cold or too long before assembling can leave the egg under-set and the texture watery.

Swap the fig

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, almond, egg, sugar):

  1. Vanillafits about as well
  2. Figthe original
  3. Datesfits less well
  4. Coconutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, almond, egg, sugar. 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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