Why it works: Sugar and apricot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Tartlets, Polish
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Roll out the puff-paste thinly and cut it into 2½-inch squares.
Brush each square with egg white, fold the corners to the center, and press them together.
Bake and serve
Brush the tops with egg white, sift sugar over them, and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for about 15 minutes.
When done, make a small hole in the center of each tartlet and fill it with jam or jelly.
Pile the tartlets high on a napkin and garnish with the same preserve.
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 + apricottop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + apricottop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,712 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 paste
- Forms the flaky, layered pastry base that puffs and crisps in the oven.
- Egg white
- Brushed on for a glossy, golden sheen and helps the pastry brown.
- Pounded sugar
- Sifted over the tops to caramelize and add a crisp, sweet surface.
- Apricot jam
- Fills the centers with a sweet, fruity flavor and moist contrast to the pastry.
The step that matters
Making the hole in the center after baking. Puff pastry rises strongly in the oven, so the centers must be opened only once the tartlets are fully baked. Cutting the hole before baking would collapse the layers and let the filling run out and burn.
Swap the apricot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Lemonfits better
- Apricotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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