Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Caramel Frosting
Ingredients
Directions
Make the frosting
Mix the maple sugar, butter, brown sugar, and cream in a saucepan.
Boil slowly for 40 minutes.
Cool and finish
Remove from heat and stir over ice until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
If the frosting is too stiff, thin it with additional cream.
Dip a knife in cream to help spread the frosting.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 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
- Maple sugar
- Provides the main sweetness and maple flavour of the frosting.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and caramel flavour, and helps the frosting set soft.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and fat, giving the frosting a smooth, creamy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, contributing to a smooth, glossy texture.
The step that matters
Boil slowly for 40 minutes. Boiling sugar and cream concentrates the mixture and drives the sugar toward caramel. Heat that is too high or uneven can scorch it, while stirring over ice is needed to cool it to a spreadable thickness.
“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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