Why it works: Sugar and almond 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 ↓
Candied Almond Cake, or Gateau Noga
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candied almonds
In a saucepan, combine fine powdered sugar and heat until nearly dissolved.
Add the sliced almonds to the sugar and stir continuously until the almonds are a nice brown.
Oil a jelly mold or stew-pan and pour the almond mixture into it, pressing it up the sides.
Allow to cool.
Serve
Turn out to serve over burnt cream or boiled custard, or serve as is.
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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Sugar + almondtop 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
- Powdered sugar
- Melts and caramelizes to form the sweet, glossy coating that binds the almonds.
- Sliced almonds
- Provide the main body, crunch and nutty flavor of the candied mixture.
The step that matters
Stirring the almonds until brown. Sugar caramelizes quickly once it nears browning, so the almonds can scorch if heat is too high or stirring stops. Constant stirring keeps the coating even and evenly colored.
“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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