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 ↓
Jelly Slices
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cake
Bake a sheet of cake less than 1 inch thick until level and not risen.
Turn the cake out of the pan, bottom side up, and cut it into long strips.
Split the strips and spread with red fruit jelly or jam.
Glaze and cut
In a bowl, mix powdered sugar with enough water or egg white to create a smooth glaze. Add fruit juice to color the glaze pink, if desired.
Spread the glaze over the jelly-covered strips.
Cut the iced strips into long, narrow pieces using a knife dipped in hot water.
Place the pieces on pans, spaced apart, to dry.
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 + 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
- Genoise cake
- Provides a light, sponge-like base that holds the jelly and glaze.
- Red fruit jelly or jam
- Adds sweetness and a moist, sticky layer between the cake and glaze.
- Powdered sugar
- Forms the sweet, smooth glaze that sets into a thin, firm coating.
- Water or egg white
- Binds with the powdered sugar to make a pourable, spreadable glaze.
The step that matters
Cutting the iced strips with a hot knife. A glaze that has begun to set will crack or drag when cut. Dipping the knife in hot water melts a little sugar at the blade, letting it slice cleanly without tearing the 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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