Why it works: Apricot and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Pastry Sandwiches
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a rather quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Roll out the puff paste thinly.
Place half of the paste on a baking sheet.
Spread the jam evenly over the paste.
Cover with another thin layer of paste and press the edges together.
Mark the surface with a knife to indicate where to cut after baking.
Bake and serve
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Shortly before done, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sifted sugar, then return to the oven to color.
Once cooled, cut into strips and serve piled on a dish.
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.
-
Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Apricot + eggtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,712 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Puff paste
- Layers of dough and fat puff apart in the oven, creating a flaky, crisp structure.
- Jam
- Provides sweetness and a moist, fruity filling between the pastry layers.
- Egg white
- Sets into a thin, glossy film on the surface and helps the sugar stick.
- Sifted sugar
- Sweetens the top and caramelizes in the oven to give browning and a crisp finish.
The step that matters
Glazing and coloring at the end. Sugar caramelizes and darkens quickly at high oven heat, so it can burn if left too long. Adding the egg white and sugar shortly before the pastry is done, then watching closely while it colors, gives a glossy, evenly browned top.
Swap the apricot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Lemonfits better
- Apricotthe original
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.
You might also like
Apricot Ice Cream26 recipes
Mixed Fruit Sherbet6 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.