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 ↓
Caramel Filling
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Boil 1 cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water until a thread 3-4 inches hangs from the spoon.
In a separate pan, cook ¼ cup of sugar until it caramelizes, then add 2-3 tablespoons of water and dissolve the caramel.
When the first mixture threads, add the caramel syrup and reboil until the mixture threads.
Finish the filling
Slowly pour the mixture into the beaten egg white.
Beat the frosting until firm enough to hold its shape.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, when boiled, builds the syrup that sets the filling's body.
- Egg white
- Whipped to foam, it gives the filling its airy structure and light texture.
- Caramel
- Adds deep, toasted flavor and color to the filling.
The step that matters
Pouring the syrup into the egg white. Hot syrup must be poured slowly while the egg white is beaten, so it combines smoothly and cooks the egg white gently into a stable foam rather than leaving streaks or lumps.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.