Why it works: Almond and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,679 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Almond Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 300°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Mix in the sweet and bitter almonds and powdered sugar.
Pound the mixture in a mortar to make it lighter.
Shape and bake
Roll into small balls and prick each ball three times with a feather.
Place the balls on paper, spaced apart, and bake in a slow oven (300°F / 150°C) until lightly browned.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + almondtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Beaten until stiff, they trap air and give the cakes a light, airy structure.
- Sweet almonds
- Provide the main almond flavor and the bulk of the dough.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a stronger, more intense almond aroma to the cakes.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the dough and helps it hold together as a soft paste.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites until stiff. Stiff whites hold air that lifts the dough; under-beaten whites leave the cakes dense, while over-beaten whites turn dry and grainy and collapse when folded in.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Pecansfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Milletfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against 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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