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 ↓
Pastry Sandwiches
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a rather quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Roll out the puff pastry thinly.
Place half of the pastry on a baking sheet and spread your chosen jam evenly over it.
Cover the jam with another layer of thin pastry, pressing the edges together.
Mark the surface with a knife to indicate where to cut after baking.
Bake and serve
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.
A few minutes before done, remove from the oven, brush with egg white, sprinkle with sifted sugar, and return to the oven to color.
Once cooled, cut into strips and arrange them in a pyramid on a serving dish.
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.
-
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
- Puff pastry
- Forms flaky layers that puff up and crisp when baked, holding the jam inside.
- Jam
- Adds sweetness and fruity flavor, and moisture that soaks slightly into the pastry.
- Egg white
- Brushed on top, it helps the surface brown and gives a glossy finish.
- Sifted sugar
- Sprinkled on top, it caramelizes in the oven for sweetness and a crisp, shiny surface.
The step that matters
Pressing the edges together before baking. If the edges are not sealed, the jam can leak out during baking and the layers may separate. A tight seal keeps the filling contained while the pastry rises.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.