Name: Everlasting Cake
Ingredients: 6 egg yolks; ¾ pint white sugar (1½ cups); 1½ pints blanched and shelled almonds (6 cups); ½ pound sliced citron, well floured (2 cups); 6 egg whites, whipped; 1½ pints sifted flour (6 cups); Coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt') to taste

Why it works: Almond and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Everlasting Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

6 egg yolks
¾ pint white sugar (1½ cups)
1½ pints blanched and shelled almonds (6 cups)
½ pound sliced citron, well floured (2 cups)
6 egg whites, whipped
1½ pints sifted flour (6 cups)
Coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt') to taste

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the batter

Beat together the yolks of the eggs and the sugar until well combined.
Add the blanched almonds, sliced citron, whipped egg whites, and sifted flour.

Bake and finish

Pour the mixture into well-greased dripping pans, about 1½ inches thick.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C) until done.
Cut the cake into 1-inch thick slices, turn each slice on its side, and return to the oven for a short time.
Once cooled, store the cake in a tin box.

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.

Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,679 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

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

Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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

Egg yolks: Add richness and tenderness while helping bind the batter together.
Egg whites: Whipped to trap air, giving the cake lift and a lighter structure.
Sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender crumb with golden browning.
Blanched almonds: Provide body, nutty flavour and a dense, moist texture.
Flour: Forms the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.

The step that matters

Returning the slices to the oven. Turning the thick slices on their sides and baking briefly lets the cut faces dry and firm, so they hold their shape and crisp slightly rather than turning soggy.

“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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Everlasting Cake