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 ↓
Iceing for Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
Beat and sift the sugar.
Combine the sugar, rose water, and beaten, strained egg whites in a bowl, then 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 briefly to harden the icing, 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).
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Sugar + rosetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,584 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Rose + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,840 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fine sugar
- Forms the sweet bulk of the icing and, when dissolved and set, gives it a smooth, hard finish.
- Egg whites
- Provide the structure that holds the icing together and helps it set firm on the cake.
- Rose water
- Adds a light floral aroma and liquid so the icing can be spread evenly.
The step that matters
Briefly setting the icing in the oven. Too little heat leaves the icing soft and sticky, while too much heat or too long browns it. Egg white proteins set with gentle heat, so the icing should harden without taking on colour.
“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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