Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Custard
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Beat the egg slightly in a bowl.
Add the cold water, heavy cream, melted butter, grated cheese, and salt to the egg, and mix well.
Pour the mixture into an individual mold.
Bake
Place the mold in a pan of hot water.
Bake until firm.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + cheesetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,655 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Sets on heating to give the custard its firm, tender structure.
- Heavy cream
- Adds richness and a softer, smoother texture to the custard.
- Melted butter
- Contributes fat for richness and a smooth, tender texture.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savory flavor and fat to the custard.
The step that matters
Place the mold in a pan of hot water. The water bath surrounds the custard with gentle, even heat. Egg proteins set smoothly this way, while direct high heat can overcook the edges and leave the center curdled or rubbery.
“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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