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 ↓
White Fondant
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine sugar, hot water, and cream of tartar in a smooth granite saucepan.
Stir until dissolved and heat gradually to boiling point.
Boil without stirring until a soft ball forms in cold water at 238°F (114°C).
If sugar sticks to the sides, clean with a wet cheesecloth or pastry brush.
Cool and work the fondant
Pour slowly onto a slightly oiled marble slab or large platter.
Let it cool until it leaves a dent when pressed but has not formed a crust.
If a crust forms, remove it completely and reboil the mixture.
Once it can be dented, scrape the fondant together and work with a wooden spatula until white and creamy.
Knead while still creamy to avoid lumping.
Scrape the slab and knead the scrapings separately.
Store
Store in a bowl covered with oiled paper for 24 hours or in an airtight jar.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Forms the sweet crystalline body of the fondant once cooked and worked.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the syrup, helping prevent large sugar crystals from forming.
- Hot water
- Dissolves the sugar so the syrup can be heated evenly before boiling.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring. Stirring while the syrup boils can seed sugar crystals, making the fondant grainy instead of smooth. Reaching the soft ball stage at 238°F sets the sugar concentration needed for a creamy texture.
“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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