Why it works: Sugar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Iceing for Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy using two wooden spoons.
Gradually add the fine sugar and lemon juice while continuing to beat.
Continue beating until the mixture is white, smooth, and holds its shape.
Ice and dry
Pour the icing over the top of the cake and smooth it with a card.
Let it dry in a warm place or near the fire, turning it often.
Add ornaments while the icing is wet.
Attach ornaments with a mixture of egg white and sugar after the icing has dried.
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 + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that holds the sugar and sets into a smooth, white icing structure.
- Fine sugar
- Sweetens the icing and, dissolved into the foam, helps it become smooth and firm as it dries.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that helps stabilise the whipped egg white foam.
The step that matters
Continue beating until the mixture is white, smooth, and holds its shape. Under-beaten egg white stays runny and will not hold a smooth coat, while over-beaten foam turns dry and grainy. Stopping when it is glossy and stiff gives an icing that spreads evenly and dries hard.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
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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