Why it works: Butter and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,245 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Brandt Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Make the butter
Combine butter, powdered sugar, pounded almonds, and brandy in a basin.
Beat the mixture near the fire until it resembles thick cream.
Prepare and serve
Prepare the sauce a day in advance for best results.
Serve on a plate or in a small glass dish as a thicker version of clotted cream.
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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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Almond + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,969 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Provides fat that firms when chilled and gives the spread its rich, creamy body.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the spread and dissolves smoothly into the butter for a fine texture.
- Almonds
- Add a nutty, slightly bitter aroma and flavor to the butter.
- Brandy
- Adds liquid and a warm, aromatic flavor to the spread.
The step that matters
Beating the mixture near the fire. Butter softened gently whips into an airy, thick cream. Too much heat melts the butter, so it turns greasy and separates instead of thickening.
“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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