Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Icing to Put Between Jelly Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, then add three tea-cupfuls of sugar and pour over one half pint of boiling water.
Let it boil to the consistency of candy.
Pour into the whites slowly, stirring all the while.
Finish
Put between the cakes while warm.
Season icing with anything you choose.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Tea + sugartop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,204 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Egg + teatop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together821 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whipped whites form a foam that gives the icing its light, airy structure.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the icing and, once boiled, thickens it into a glossy, set texture.
The step that matters
Pouring the boiling syrup into the whites. Pour slowly while stirring constantly. Adding the hot syrup too fast can scramble the egg whites or deflate the foam, and uneven mixing leaves lumps. The heat from the syrup cooks and sets the whites gently into a stable icing.
“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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