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 ↓
Almond Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cake
Bake a delicate loaf cake.
Flavor the cake with almond extract.
Make the frosting and finish
Beat the egg yolks and powdered sugar for 20 minutes.
Add more almond extract to taste.
Spread the frosting on the cake and top with whole blanched almonds.
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
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and fat, and help bind the sugar into a smooth, thick frosting.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and, when beaten with yolks, gives the frosting a fine, smooth texture.
- Almond extract
- Provides the main almond aroma and flavor throughout the cake and frosting.
The step that matters
Beating the egg yolks and powdered sugar for 20 minutes. Long beating dissolves the fine sugar into the yolks and incorporates air, producing a smooth, glossy frosting. Stopping early can leave a grainy texture that is harder to spread evenly.
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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