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Dessert

Black Forest Parfait

A chilled dessert of Neufchatel cream cheese, chocolate pudding, cherry juice, and cherries.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Chocolate and cherry work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 576 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Black Forest Parfait

Ingredients

Directions

Make the pudding

  1. Blend cream cheese with ¼ cup skim milk on low speed of electric mixer until smooth.

  2. Add remaining milk and pudding mix, then mix 1 or 2 minutes or until smooth.

Make the cherry sauce

  1. Mix cornstarch in cherry juice until dissolved.

  2. Add to cherries and cook until it boils for 1 minute.

  3. Remove from heat and stir in Equal sweetener.

Assemble and serve

  1. Alternately spoon pudding and cherries into parfait dishes, ending with pudding.

  2. Garnish with 2 cherries.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

945Calories
26 gProtein
28 gFat
148 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Cherry1 cup (138g)87
Puddingnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Chocolate + cherrytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together576 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Milk + cherrytop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together851 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  3. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Cream cheese + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,393 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream cheese
Adds richness and a smooth, creamy body to the pudding.
Cornstarch
Thickens the cherry juice into a glossy sauce when heated.
Cherries
Provide tart fruit flavor and moisture for the layers.
Instant chocolate pudding
Supplies the chocolate flavor and sets the pudding layers.

The step that matters

Cooking the cherry sauce to a boil. Cornstarch only thickens fully once it reaches a boil. Stirring it into the juice first until dissolved prevents lumps, and boiling for a full minute ensures the sauce sets properly before it cools.

Swap the cherry

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream cheese, milk, sugar, chocolate):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Strawberryfits better
  4. Cherrythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream cheese, milk, sugar, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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