Why it works: Filbert and butter work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 52 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Filbert Cream Tartlets
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 filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Extract the kernels from the filberts and pound them in a mortar with water to prevent oiliness.
Add butter, sugar, white noyau, and egg yolks to the pounded filberts and mix well.
Bake and glaze
Fill tartlet molds with the mixture and bake until done.
Remove tartlets from molds and place on a clean baking sheet.
Glaze the surface with a mixture of white noyau and glazing sugar until thick.
Let the tartlets dry in a cool place.
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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Filbert + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together52 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Filbert + eggtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together86 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Filberts
- Provide the nutty, rich flavour and fat that give the filling its body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the filling a smooth, tender texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the filling brown lightly as it bakes.
- Egg yolks
- Bind the filling and set when baked, giving it structure and richness.
- White noyau
- Adds aromatic almond-cherry flavour to both the filling and the glaze.
The step that matters
Pounding the filberts with water. Water is added while pounding so the nuts release less oil and form a smooth paste rather than a greasy one. Without it, the filling can separate and turn oily.
Swap the filbert
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg):
- Almondfits better
- Pecansfits better
- Filbertthe original
- Walnutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg. 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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