Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Glace Au Fondant
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Put the sugar into a saucepan.
Add the water and acid.
Heat on low until the sugar dissolves.
Boil quickly.
Skim the surface.
Cover the saucepan for 1-2 minutes.
Insert a thermometer.
Boil to 230°F (110°C).
Remove from heat.
Work the fondant
Sprinkle a marble slab with warm water.
Pour the sugar onto it.
Work the sugar with a spatula.
Turn it in all directions.
Gather the sugar with a knife or scraper until all parts are worked.
When the sugar becomes white and creamy, form it into a ball.
Knead until smooth.
Soften and flavor
Place the desired amount in a saucepan over low heat.
Stir to soften.
Add a little water if necessary.
Flavor with essence as desired.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Loaf sugar
- Forms the bulk of the icing and, once worked, crystallizes into a smooth, opaque paste.
- Water
- Dissolves the sugar so it can be boiled into a syrup without burning.
- Cream of tartar or lemon juice
- Acid that inhibits large sugar crystals, helping the fondant stay smooth and pliable.
The step that matters
Boil to 230°F (110°C). Stopping the boil at the right temperature sets the sugar concentration. Too low gives a soft, runny fondant; too high gives a hard, brittle one that is difficult to work.
“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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