Why it works: Orange and almond 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 ↓
Gateaux De Boulogne Pralines
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the batter
Weigh and boil the ingredients as for petits choux.
Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the pounded ratafia, orange flower water, and warm cream.
Shape and bake
Drop the mixture in lengths about the size of your finger onto a baking sheet.
Brush the tops with egg wash and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
When nearly done, sift powdered sugar over the top.
To glaze, hold a red hot shovel over the cakes until done.
Serve very hot.
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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Orange + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,130 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Orange and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 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
- Build the structure of the batter and help the cakes puff and set as they bake.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and fat, giving the cakes a tender crumb and a golden colour.
- Warm cream
- Adds moisture and fat, softening the batter and making the cakes tender.
- Pounded ratafia
- Contributes flavour and sweetness, with a distinct almond-like aroma.
- Powdered sugar
- Sifted over the top near the end of baking, adding sweetness and a light finish.
The step that matters
Holding the red hot shovel over the cakes. The glaze is applied by direct heat, so the shovel must be hot enough to brown the surface without scorching it. Too little heat leaves the glaze pale, while too much burns the sugar and the cakes.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, almond, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, almond, sugar. 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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