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 ↓
Golden Icing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Boil sugar and water until it reaches the soft ball stage.
Combine and beat
In a bowl, combine beaten egg yolks and cream.
Pour the syrup over the yolk mixture.
Beat well until the icing is stiff enough to spread.
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).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, once cooked to syrup, sets firm as the icing cools and thickens.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the syrup and cream into a smooth, stable mixture.
- Cream
- Softens the texture and adds richness and moisture to the icing.
The step that matters
Beat until stiff enough to spread. Beating cools the mixture and traps air, so it thickens into a spreadable icing. Stop once it holds its shape, because overbeating can make the sugar grainy as it sets.
“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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