Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Coffee Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Scald the milk and 1½ cups of cream in a double boiler.
Add the coffee and sugar, stirring until melted.
Freeze and finish
Cool the mixture, then add the uncooked cream and freeze.
For extra light and spongy texture, whip the uncooked cream and stir it in when the mixture is half frozen.
Serve with a garnish of whipped cream if desired.
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 + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + coffeetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Cream + coffeetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Sugar + coffeetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cream
- Adds fat and richness, giving the ice cream a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the base and lowers its freezing point, keeping the ice cream softer and scoopable.
- Rich milk
- Adds milk solids and fat that add body and a creamy flavour to the base.
- Strong black coffee
- Supplies the main flavour and aroma of the ice cream.
The step that matters
Whipping the uncooked cream for the half-frozen stage. If the mixture is too frozen or too liquid when the whipped cream goes in, the cream will either not blend or will deflate, losing the light, airy texture that the whipped cream is meant to add.
“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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