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 ↓
Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
In a mortar, combine sugar, rosewater, and beaten egg whites.
Whisk the mixture well.
Ice and set 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 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Forms the bulk of the icing and sweetens it, helping it set into a glossy coating.
- Egg whites
- Bind the icing and help it harden into a smooth, firm coating when heated.
- Rosewater
- Adds a floral aroma to the icing.
The step that matters
Placing the cake in the oven to harden. Sugar and egg white icings set through gentle heat, but high heat makes the sugar brown and discolor. Keeping the temperature low lets the icing dry and firm while staying pale.
“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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