Why it works: Almond and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Viennese Tartlets
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Line deep tartlet tins with short pastry.
Make the filling
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the egg yolks, grated lemon rind, and lemon juice.
Whisk the mixture over boiling water until thick.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold in 1 tablespoon of the mixture.
Fill and bake
Half fill the tartlets with the mixture.
Sprinkle the chopped almonds and cherries on top.
Bake in the preheated oven.
Top and dry
Mix the remaining egg whites with icing sugar and ground cinnamon.
Pile the mixture on top of the tartlets and garnish with cherries.
Dry in a cool oven.
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 + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Lemon + almondtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Whites whisked to stiff peaks trap air for a light topping, while yolks thicken and enrich the filling.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to add richness and a tender, short texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, creamed with butter, helps trap air for a lighter texture.
- Almonds
- Add nutty flavor and a slightly crunchy texture to the filling.
- Lemon
- Rind adds aroma and juice adds acidity that brightens the rich filling.
The step that matters
Whisk the mixture over boiling water until thick. Gentle heat from the steam thickens the egg yolks into a smooth custard. If the heat is too high or the mixture is left too long, the eggs can scramble and turn grainy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, almond, sugar, egg, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, almond, sugar, egg, cinnamon. 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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