Why it works: Almond and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,125 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Oranges — Continued
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Blanch and skin the almonds.
Pound the almonds finely in a mortar, adding a few drops of orange‑flower water occasionally.
Warm the butter without letting it oil.
Beat the butter well with the caster sugar.
Boil the fresh and candied oranges to remove bitterness.
Drain and pound the oranges until smooth.
Beat the egg yolks and egg whites together.
Make and bake
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Fill patty pans with the mixture.
Bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) until cooked.
Finish and serve
Turn the cakes out of the tins.
Let them cool.
Arrange them on a fancy dish to serve.
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 + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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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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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Almonds
- Finely pounded nuts give the cake its dense, moist, tender crumb and nutty flavour.
- Butter
- Beaten with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and a tender texture.
- Caster sugar
- Beaten with butter, it helps create a light structure and gives sweetness.
- Candied oranges
- Provide concentrated citrus sweetness and aroma, and moisture once pounded into the batter.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, moisture and fat, and help bind the batter.
- Egg whites
- Beaten into the batter, they add air and lift, helping the cakes set light.
The step that matters
Boiling the oranges. Boiling removes bitterness from the citrus peel. Skipping or shortening this step leaves the cake tasting harsh, so the oranges should be fully boiled before they are drained and pounded.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, butter, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, 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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