Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Apple Frost with Cream
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apples
Peel and core the apples carefully without breaking them.
In a saucepan, combine the loaf sugar, ⅓ pint of water, lemon juice, cloves, and cinnamon. Heat until it reduces to a syrup, skimming as needed.
Arrange the apples in a sauté pan and pour the syrup around them. Cover with buttered paper and bake gently until tender.
Make the frost
Transfer the apples to a buttered baking sheet. Cover the surface lightly with stiffly whisked egg whites using a piping bag, and sprinkle with castor sugar.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until the meringue hardens and colors slightly. Let cool completely.
Serve
When ready to serve, whip the cream until stiff and stir in 2 teaspoons of castor sugar.
Pile a little whipped cream in the center of each apple and place them on a bed of cream on the serving dish.
Decorate each apple with a cherry and strips of angelica, then serve.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Lemon + angelicatop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together189 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Cinnamon + angelicatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together80 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Clove + angelicatop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together84 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sour cooking apples
- Provide the main body and a tart flavor that balances the sweet syrup and meringue.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and helps it thicken as it reduces, coating the apples.
- Egg whites
- Whisked into a meringue that sets and browns in the oven to form the frosted topping.
- Cream
- Whipped to a stiff, rich layer that adds moisture and creaminess to each serving.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the apple flavor and helps keep the syrup clear.
The step that matters
Baking the meringue until it hardens and colors slightly. Egg whites set when heated and brown through the Maillard reaction. Too hot or too long can scorch or weep, while too little heat leaves the frost soft and pale.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cream, egg, lemon, cinnamon, clove, angelica):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Raisinfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cream, egg, lemon, cinnamon, clove, angelica. 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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