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 ↓
Plain Frosting
Ingredients
Directions
Make the frosting
Beat the egg white until stiff peaks form.
Gradually stir in the powdered sugar and cornstarch until well combined.
Ensure the mixture is thoroughly beaten before frosting the cake.
Frost the cake
Invert a milk pan, place the cake on it, and apply the frosting for a smooth finish.
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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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 white
- Whipped into stiff peaks, it forms the airy, structured base of the frosting.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves into the whipped white to add sweetness and body to the frosting.
- Cornstarch
- Helps stabilize the frosting so it holds its shape and stays smooth.
The step that matters
Beating the egg white to stiff peaks. Egg white foam traps air and sets the frosting's texture. If it is underwhipped, the frosting will be runny and spread poorly; overbeaten whites turn grainy and dry. Stiff peaks are the sign to stop.
“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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