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 ↓
Sugar Icing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
In an earthenware bowl, beat the egg whites with a wooden spatula.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and tartaric acid, continuing to beat until thick.
If needed, add more sugar to make the icing stiffer.
Finish and decorate
Pour the icing over your cakes and keep in a warm place to harden.
Use a piping bag to decorate as desired.
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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Egg + sugartop 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that gives the icing body and lets it set into a glossy coating.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and bulk, and stiffens the icing as more is beaten in.
- Tartaric acid
- Acidity that stabilises the whipped egg whites and helps keep the icing smooth.
The step that matters
Adding the powdered sugar gradually. Adding sugar in portions lets the whipped egg white foam take it in without collapsing. Dumping it in at once can deflate the foam and leave a thin, runny icing that will not set well.
“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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