Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
White Frosting
Ingredients
Directions
Make the frosting
Dissolve the lumps of sugar in enough water in a deep bowl.
Beat the egg whites lightly and add them to the sugar and water mixture.
Place the bowl in a vessel of boiling water and beat the mixture until it thickens and becomes clear.
Remove from heat and continue beating until cold and thick.
Finish and serve
For a smoother frosting, gradually add 1 cup of powdered sugar to the white of one egg while stirring.
Stir in the lemon juice and optional vanilla for flavor.
Spread the frosting on the cake with a knife.
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 + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Lemon + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- White sugar
- Provides sweetness and, dissolved and heated, gives the frosting its body and smooth set.
- Egg whites
- Whipped with the sugar syrup, they create a light, airy structure that thickens the frosting.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps smooth and firm the frosting for a finer texture.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness and helps stabilize the whipped egg white foam.
The step that matters
Beating over boiling water until thick and clear. Heating the sugar and egg white mixture over boiling water partly cooks the egg whites so the foam holds. Beating too little or too briefly leaves the frosting runny, so keep beating until it thickens and turns clear.
Swap the vanilla
The recipe marks vanilla as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, lemon):
- Orangefits about as well
- Vanillathe original
- Limefits less well
- Raisinfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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