Why it works: Almond and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,115 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Almond Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
Beat the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the strained egg yolks and mix well.
Rub the baking powder into the flour and add it alternately with the whipped egg whites.
Mix in the almond paste, nutmeg, and orange-flower water.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into small, round, deep pans with straight sides.
Bake until golden and cover with almond frosting when done.
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 + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,115 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Orange + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,746 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whipped whites lighten the batter and help it rise, while yolks add richness and structure.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cakes together as they set.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cakes rise and become light.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add tenderness and richness.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps create a light, fluffy creamed base.
- Sweet almonds
- Add nutty flavour and moisture, and give the cakes a dense, tender crumb.
The step that matters
Adding the whipped egg whites. Whites must be folded in gently, alternately with the flour, so the air they hold is not lost. Overmixing deflates the batter and produces dense cakes instead of light, risen ones.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, egg, almond, nutmeg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, egg, almond, nutmeg. 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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