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Macaroon Cream

A custard-like cream made with gelatin, eggs, milk, sugar, and pounded macaroons.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 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 ↓

Macaroon Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gelatin

  1. Soak the gelatin in cold water.

Make the custard

  1. In a saucepan, make a custard by combining scalded milk, egg yolks, sugar, and salt over low heat.

  2. Add the dissolved gelatin to the custard and stir in the pounded macaroons and vanilla until thickened.

Finish and set

  1. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites until well combined.

  2. Pour the mixture into molds or shapes and refrigerate until set.

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. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

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

  4. Gelatin + vanillatop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together924 recipes

    Shared aroma: maltol (caramel, sweet).

  5. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 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

Gelatin
Sets the custard into a firm, sliceable structure as it cools.
Egg yolks
Thicken the custard and add richness and body.
Egg whites
Whipped into the mixture to add lightness and a airy texture.
Pounded macaroons
Add almond and sweet flavor and body to the cream.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard and adds creaminess.

The step that matters

Adding the dissolved gelatin to the custard. Gelatin must be fully dissolved and the custard warm but not boiling, so the gelatin mixes evenly. If it cools too much it can set in lumps, and if the custard is too hot the egg yolks can curdle or the gelatin's setting power weakens.

“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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