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 ↓
Honey Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Separate the eggs.
Place the yolks in a bowl with the sugar and stir until thick and creamy.
Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Mix the three flours together.
Alternately add the flour and whipped egg whites to the yolks, stirring gently.
Bake and cool
Pour the mixture into a shallow cake tin lined with buttered paper.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 50 minutes.
Cool the cake on a wire rack.
Fill and finish
Once cooled, cut the cake in half, mix the almonds and honey, and spread it on the bottom half.
Replace the top of the cake and optionally ice with chocolate or coffee icing.
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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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Almond + honeytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,069 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Flour and egg 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 and yolks provide the structure and lift that give the sponge its airy crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Gluten forms the main framework that holds the cake's structure as it bakes.
- Cornflour
- Starch softens the crumb, giving a more tender texture than flour alone.
- Caster sugar
- Sugar sweetens the batter and helps the yolks whip to a thick, creamy texture.
- Honey
- Adds sweetness and moisture to the almond filling spread inside the cake.
- Chopped almonds
- Add nutty flavour and a bit of texture to the honey filling.
The step that matters
Folding in the whipped egg whites. Adding the whites too vigorously or all at once knocks out the air they hold, so the cake rises less and turns dense. Alternating small additions of flour and whites while stirring gently keeps the batter light.
“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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