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Dessert

Almond Icing

A sweet almond icing made from beaten egg whites, confectioner's sugar, almonds, rosewater, and flour for dredging.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Almond Icing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the icing

  1. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

  2. Gradually add the confectioner's sugar, mixing until fully incorporated.

  3. Stir in the grated or pounded almonds and rosewater.

Spread on the cake

  1. Spread the icing thickly between or on top of the cake.

  2. Place the frosting in the center of the cake, dip a knife in cold water, and spread from the center toward the edge.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,673 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  3. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  5. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg whites
Whipped to stiffness, they give the icing its light, airy structure.
Confectioner's sugar
Sweetens the icing and thickens it into a spreadable paste as it dissolves into the whites.
Sweet almonds
Provide body, nutty flavor, and richness to the icing.
Rosewater
Adds a delicate floral aroma to the almond icing.

The step that matters

Spread from the center toward the edge with a cold knife. Egg white icing is sticky and can tear or drag the cake crumb. Dipping the knife in cold water keeps the surface from grabbing, letting a smooth, even layer form.

“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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