Why it works: Chocolate and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the filling
In a saucepan, mix grated chocolate, cornstarch, egg yolks, sugar, and boiling water.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
Assemble and cool
Pre-bake the pie crust until golden.
Pour the chocolate filling into the crust.
Top with meringue made from the reserved egg whites.
Set aside to cool.
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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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Chocolate + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptenal (green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the filling as it cooks, giving it a set, sliceable body.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and help thicken the custard, adding richness and smoothness.
- Grated chocolate
- Provides the main chocolate flavour and colour of the filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and balances the bitterness of the chocolate.
The step that matters
Cooking the filling until it thickens. Cornstarch only thickens fully when the mixture reaches a boil while stirred, and undercooking leaves the filling thin and runny. Constant stirring prevents the egg yolks from scrambling on the hot base of the pan.
“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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