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German Almond Rings

A pastry ring filled with almond meringue.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and sugar 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 ↓

German Almond Rings

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the pastry

  1. Roll puff pastry thin and cut circles with a tumbler or biscuit cutter.

  2. Cut a smaller circle from the center of each circle to create rings ¾ inch wide.

Make the almond meringue

  1. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, then gradually add powdered sugar.

  2. Place bowl over boiling water and stir until meringue thickens.

  3. Fold in thinly sliced almonds.

  4. Cool mixture, then spread it on pastry rings with a small knife.

Bake and store

  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden.

  2. Store in airtight container for up to 2-3 weeks.

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. Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  2. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Almond + eggtop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,645 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Blanched almonds
Provide the main texture and nutty flavor of the topping.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the meringue and helps it hold its shape when beaten.
Puff pastry
Forms the crisp, flaky base that holds the topping.
Egg whites
Whip into a foam that sets the meringue and gives it structure.

The step that matters

Thicken the meringue over boiling water. Stirring the whipped whites over gentle heat thickens them into a stable, spreadable mixture. Overheating can cause the egg proteins to scramble, and under-thickened meringue may spread and run in the oven.

Swap the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):

  1. Pecansfits about as well
  2. Almondthe original
  3. Chestnutfits about as well
  4. Milletfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against 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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