Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
Combine sugar and water in a small enamelled saucepan.
Boil for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add grated chocolate and vanilla, stirring until smooth and well mixed.
Finish and serve
Spread the icing evenly over the top of the eclairs.
Leave to harden and serve cold.
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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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, boiled with water, forms a syrup that gives the icing its body.
- Grated chocolate
- Adds chocolate flavour and cocoa fat, which lets the icing set firm as it cools.
The step that matters
Boiling the sugar and water. The boil must be timed and stirred constantly. Boiling too long concentrates the syrup, so the icing can turn thick or grainy, while stopping too early leaves it thin and slow to set.
“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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