Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the icing
Combine the powdered sugar, powdered chocolate, and water in a saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens to the consistency of thick cream.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla essence.
Ice and set
Spread the icing on buns using a palette knife.
Place the buns in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 2-3 minutes to set.
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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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Powdered loaf sugar
- Provides sweetness and body, and thickens the icing as it dissolves and cooks.
- Chocolate
- Provides the chocolate flavor and helps thicken the icing.
The step that matters
Stir over medium heat until thick cream consistency. Sugar and chocolate thicken as water evaporates during gentle heating. Too much heat can scorch the sugar and chocolate, giving a bitter taste, while stopping too early leaves the icing thin and runny.
“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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