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Classic Winter Fruitcake

This festive icing is easy to use, looks amazing and makes a lighter end to a meal. The perfect centrepiece for Christmas tea

By bbcgoodfood · From Open Recipes · 12 ingredients
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Classic Winter Fruitcake

Why it works: Grape and fig match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 323 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Classic Winter Fruitcake

Enough icing for the top
Prep20 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

228Calories
7 gProtein
6 gFat
39 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Fig1 medium (50g)37
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Clementinenot in our table0
Kumquatnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcgoodfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Grape + figtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together323 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Fig + kumquattop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl isobutyrate (flower).

  3. Sugar + figtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Grape + kumquattop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl isobutyrate (flower).

  5. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the kumquat

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, grape, fig):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Apricotfits better
  3. Pearfits better
  4. Kumquatthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, grape, fig. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.