Why it works: Egg and sugar 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 ↓
Directions for Frosting
Ingredients
Directions
Make the frosting
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth.
Gradually add the powdered sugar while beating continuously until smooth.
Add your chosen flavoring.
Frost the cake
Prepare a clean surface with a tin milk-pan inverted on paper.
Place the cake on the pan and apply the frosting, smoothing it out quickly with a knife.
If the frosting is too stiff, dip the knife in warm water to help spread it.
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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Egg + sugartop 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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Egg + rosetop 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff foam that gives the frosting its light, airy structure.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves into the whipped whites to add sweetness and body to the frosting.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to a stiff froth. Egg whites must be beaten until they hold stiff peaks; under-beaten whites stay runny and the frosting will not hold its shape. Adding sugar gradually while beating keeps the foam stable.
“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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