Why it works: Sugar and egg 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 ↓
Iceing for Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
Beat and sift the sugar.
Combine sugar, rose-water, and beaten egg whites in a mortar.
Whisk the mixture well.
Ice the cake
When the cake is almost cold, dip a feather in the icing and cover the cake thoroughly.
Place the cake in the oven to harden, but do not let it discolor.
Store
Store the cake in a dry place.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + rosetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,584 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Rose + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,840 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fine sugar
- Adds sweetness and bulk, and dissolves into the egg white to give the icing body.
- Egg whites
- Trap air and set into a firm, glossy coating as they dry and cook.
- Rose-water
- Flavors the icing with a floral aroma.
The step that matters
Hardening in the oven without discoloring. Egg white and sugar set into a crisp, glossy shell when gently dried, but they brown quickly at high heat. Watching the oven keeps the icing pale and firm rather than scorched.
“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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