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Dessert

Chocolate Filling

A chocolate filling made with melted chocolate, powdered sugar, milk, egg yolk, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Chocolate Filling

Ingredients

Directions

Melt and mix

  1. Melt the chocolate over hot water.

  2. Add the powdered sugar and milk.

  3. Mix well.

Cook and finish

  1. Incorporate the egg yolk and remaining powdered sugar.

  2. Cook in a double boiler until thickened.

  3. Stir constantly for a smooth mixture.

  4. Cool slightly.

  5. Add vanilla.

  6. Spread.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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

Chocolate
Provides the main flavor and richness, and firms as the filling cools.
Powdered sugar
Adds sweetness and body, and dissolves smoothly into the melted chocolate.
Egg yolk
Thickens the filling as it cooks gently, adding richness and structure.
Milk
Adds moisture and loosens the mixture to a smooth, spreadable consistency.

The step that matters

Cook in a double boiler until thickened. Egg yolk can curdle or scramble if it gets too hot. Gentle heat over water, with constant stirring, lets it thicken evenly and keeps the filling smooth.

“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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