Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
To Frepabe Icing for Bride or Other Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
In a clean, round-bottomed china bowl, break in the egg whites.
Add ½ pound of powdered sugar and beat vigorously with a wooden spatula until it thickens.
Add a small amount of cream of tartar and 1 drop of indigo blue food coloring.
Continue adding sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing reaches your desired thickness.
Ensure no egg yolk contaminates the mixture and that all tools are grease-free.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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 whites
- Whipped with sugar to form the structure that holds the icing together and sets it.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves into the whites to add sweetness and body, thickening the icing.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the egg whites, stabilizing the foam so the icing stays smooth and holds its shape.
The step that matters
Keep all egg yolk and grease out of the bowl. Fat from egg yolk or greasy tools prevents egg white proteins from foaming and holding air, so the icing will not thicken or hold its peaks.
“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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