Why it works: Sugar and egg 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 ↓
Ornamental Frosting I
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Boil sugar and water until syrup forms a long thread when dropped from the tip of a spoon.
Make the frosting
Pour syrup gradually over beaten egg whites, beating constantly.
Add tartaric acid and continue beating.
When stiff enough to spread, put a thin coating over cake.
Beat remaining frosting until cold and stiff enough to keep in shape after being forced through a pastry tube.
If frosting is too stiff to spread smoothly, thin with a few drops of water.
Finish the cake
After first coating on cake has hardened, cover with a thicker layer and crease for cutting.
With a pastry bag and variety of tubes, cake may be ornamented as desired.
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.
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
- Sugar
- Dissolves into the water and cooks into a syrup that sets the frosting's sweetness and body.
- Egg whites
- Beaten with hot syrup to form a stable foam that gives the frosting its light, stiff structure.
- Tartaric acid
- Acidity that stabilises the egg white foam and helps it stay smooth and stiff.
The step that matters
Pouring the syrup over the egg whites. Syrup must be added gradually while beating constantly. Pouring too fast or stopping the beater can cook or deflate the whites unevenly, leaving a grainy or runny frosting.
“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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