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Dessert

Lady Cake

A sweet almond-flavored cake made with sugar, flour, butter, egg whites, and optional whisky or rum.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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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 ↓

Lady Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

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 first batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Mix together 1 lb of caster sugar, 1 lb of flour, 1 lb of butter, and the whites of 14 eggs, then add 2 drops of oil of bitter almond and mix well.

  3. Pour the mixture onto a buttered tin.

  4. Bake until golden.

Make the second batter

  1. In another bowl, cream together 1 lb of caster sugar and 1 lb of butter.

  2. Mix 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar with 1 lb of flour and 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda with ½ cup of sweet milk.

  3. Combine all ingredients into a stiff paste.

  4. Bake in a greased mold.

  5. For added flavor, mix in 2 tablespoons of whisky or rum.

Make the third batter and finish

  1. Beat 6 oz of butter until creamy.

  2. Gradually add 1 lb of caster sugar.

  3. Stir in 1 teaspoon of essence of almond, 1 teacup of milk, and the whites of 6 eggs beaten to stiff peaks.

  4. Fold in 1 lb of flour mixed with 1 teaspoon of baking powder, then mix well.

  5. Bake in a greased tin.

  6. Once cooled, cover with sugar icing.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,673 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,245 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Whites of eggs
Whisked egg whites add lift and a light, airy crumb to the cake.
Butter
Fat that gives the cake richness, tenderness and a fine texture.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Caster sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender, golden crust.
Cream of tartar
Acidifies the batter so bicarbonate of soda reacts and helps the cake rise.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking to help the cake rise and lighten.

The step that matters

Folding in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when beaten to stiff peaks and folded gently. Overmixing or deflating them lets air escape, leaving a dense, heavy cake instead of a light one.

“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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