Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Caramel Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
In a large pot, bring the milk to a boil.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the powdered white sugar to the egg yolks, beating until well combined.
Once the milk boils, remove it from the heat and slowly add it to the egg mixture, stirring continuously.
Return the mixture to the heat and stir until it thickens.
Make the burnt sugar and finish
While the milk is boiling, place the brown sugar in a skillet over medium heat to burn.
Carefully pour a small amount of the custard into the burnt sugar in the skillet, stirring until smooth.
Gradually combine the burnt sugar mixture with the custard, tasting until it reaches a coffee-like color.
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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set with heat, and add richness.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, giving body and creaminess.
- Powdered white sugar
- Sweetens the custard and dissolves easily into the egg yolks.
- Brown sugar
- Burns to a dark caramel that flavors and colors the custard.
The step that matters
Return the mixture to the heat and stir until it thickens. Egg yolks thicken as their proteins set with gentle heat. Too much heat or too little stirring can scramble them into lumps, so stir steadily over low-to-moderate heat.
“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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