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 ↓
Philadelphia Marshmallow Icing
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve the marshmallow icing in lukewarm water.
Add the powdered sugar and cream of tartar.
Beat the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes until well combined.
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
- Marshmallow icing
- Provides the marshmallow flavor and a soft, airy, sweet base for the frosting.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and bulk, and helps the frosting thicken and hold its structure.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the mixture to stabilize the whipped texture and keep it from weeping or collapsing.
The step that matters
Beating the mixture until well combined. Beating for the full 15 to 20 minutes incorporates air and dissolves the sugar so the frosting becomes smooth and light. Stopping early can leave it grainy and dense.
“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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