Why it works: Flour and almond 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 ↓
Cup Cakes
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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the beaten egg yolks and mix well.
Stir in the milk and any flavoring you desire.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the batter.
If desired, fold in currants, raisins, citron, or almonds before baking.
Bake
Spoon the batter into buttered gem pans or drop teaspoonfuls onto flat buttered baking sheets.
Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
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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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whites beaten to stiff peaks lighten the batter and help the cupcakes rise and set with an airy crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Flour provides the structure that holds the cupcakes together as they bake.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, butter adds richness and tenderness to the crumb.
- Sugar
- Sugar sweetens the batter and, creamed with butter, helps trap air for a lighter texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacting with the cream of tartar, baking soda releases gas that makes the cupcakes rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic with the baking soda, cream of tartar produces gas for lift and stabilizes the whipped whites.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stiff whites hold the air that lifts the batter. Overmixing or deflating them while folding knocks out bubbles, leaving dense cupcakes. Fold gently until just blended.
Swap the currant
The recipe marks currant as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, flour, egg, cream, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, flour, egg, cream, almond. 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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