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 ↓
Ratafia Cakbs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the almond paste
Finely grind the blanched bitter and sweet almonds in a mortar.
Beat the 4 egg whites until frothy.
Make the mixture
Gradually mix in the pounded sugar and ground almonds with the egg whites.
Add the 9 egg whites, checking for lightness.
Pipe and bake
Pipe the mixture onto cartridge paper in drops the size of a shilling using a biscuit funnel.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until light brown.
Remove from the paper as soon as they are cool.
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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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Almond + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Almonds
- Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the cakes.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to give lightness and help the cakes rise and set in the oven.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and, with the egg whites, helps the cakes brown as they bake.
The step that matters
Checking for lightness after adding the 9 egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when beaten to the right stage; if the mixture is overworked it loses air and the cakes spread flat, while underworking leaves them dense. Checking the texture before piping keeps the aerated structure that gives the cakes their light crumb.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Pecansfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Milletfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, 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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