Why it works: Sugar and peppermint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 29% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,082 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Moravian Mint Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mint syrup
Mix half the powdered sugar with the water in a porcelain-lined saucepan.
Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring until it boils.
Remove from heat and stir in the remaining powdered sugar and oil of peppermint.
Return to heat and let it boil again briefly.
Form the cakes
Pour the mixture into tin patty pans or drop onto greased stiff paper to form cakes the size of a dollar.
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 + pepperminttop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,082 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Powdered sugar
- Forms the sweet, dense body of the cakes as it dissolves and then sets again on cooling.
- Water
- Dissolves the first portion of sugar so it can be heated into a smooth, boiling syrup.
- Oil of peppermint
- Provides the mint aroma and flavor that defines the cake.
The step that matters
Return to heat and let it boil again briefly. Sugar syrup must reach the right temperature to set into firm cakes; under-boiling leaves them soft and sticky, while overheating can make them brittle or grainy.
“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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