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
Make the batter
Beat the yolks of the eggs until frothy.
Mix the powdered sugar into the yolks.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold the egg whites into the yolk and sugar mixture.
Gradually add the sifted flour and baking powder, and mix well.
Stir in the pounded almonds and rose water.
Add the thick sweet cream.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a long tin pan.
Bake until golden.
Frost the cake once cooled.
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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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Whipped whites trap air and give the cake its light, airy structure, while yolks add richness.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and gluten that set the crumb once baked.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the batter rises and becomes lighter.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps create a fine, tender crumb.
- Blanched almonds
- Add nutty flavour and moisture, and contribute body to the crumb.
- Thick sweet cream
- Adds fat and moisture, making the cake richer and more tender.
The step that matters
Folding the egg whites into the yolk and sugar mixture. Whites hold air only while they stay whipped. Overmixing or stirring vigorously deflates them, which leads to a dense cake instead of a light one. Fold gently, just until combined.
“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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