Why it works: Almond and pistachio match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 693 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Tapioca Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Assemble the base
Place the macaroons and ratafias in a trifle dish.
Pour the sherry over them and let it stand until absorbed.
Spread apricot jam over the biscuits.
Top and garnish
Whip the cream until stiff and spread it on top of the jam.
Garnish with blanched and sliced almonds and pistachios.
Sprinkle colored sugar or comfits on top.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + pistachiotop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together693 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Apricot + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Apricot + pistachiotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together188 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Sherry + apricottop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together173 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroons
- Form the crisp-soft biscuit base that soaks up the sherry.
- Ratafias
- Add more almond-flavored biscuit to the base, soaking up sherry and adding body.
- Sherry
- Moistens the biscuits and adds a rich, aromatic flavor.
- Thick cream
- Forms a stiff, airy, rich layer on top of the jam.
- Apricot jam
- Adds sweetness and fruity flavor between the biscuits and cream.
The step that matters
Letting the sherry stand until absorbed. Biscuits that are under-soaked stay dry and hard, while over-soaked ones turn mushy and collapse. Letting the sherry fully absorb gives an even, tender base before the jam and cream go on.
Swap the apricot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sherry, cream, almond, sugar, pistachio):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Apricotthe original
- Raspberryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sherry, cream, almond, sugar, pistachio. 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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