Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cream Icing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the icing
Cream the butter in a bowl.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and evaporated cream, mixing well.
Place the bowl over hot water and stir in the vanilla until smooth.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly before icing cakes.
If the icing becomes too stiff, beat it and return it to the hot water if necessary.
Variation
To make chocolate icing, add cocoa to taste.
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.
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the icing a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
- Powdered sugar
- Provides sweetness and body, forming the bulk of the icing's structure.
- Evaporated cream
- Supplies moisture and liquid so the sugar can combine into a spreadable icing.
The step that matters
Keep the icing warm over hot water. Gentle heat keeps the butter soft and the sugar dissolving smoothly. If the icing stiffens, it can turn grainy or hard to spread, so returning it to the hot water restores its texture.
“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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