Name: Lalla Rookh or Frozen Egg-nog
Ingredients: 4 cups of cream; 1 cup sugar; 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy; 4 eggs

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 ↓

Lalla Rookh or Frozen Egg-nog

Ingredients

4 cups of cream
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoonfuls of brandy
4 eggs

Directions

Beat the eggs to a stiff foam, add the sugar and beat again.
Mix with the cream, nutmeg and a speck of salt and freeze; when frozen, stir in the rum.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

178Calories

7 gProtein

11 gFat

14 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Brandy	not in our table	0

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

By Norton, Caroline Trask. 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. See the original page.

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.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,635 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Brandy + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,340 recipes

Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together11,939 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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

Eggs: Whipped into a stiff foam, they give the frozen mixture its airy, light structure.
Cream: Adds fat and richness, giving the frozen eggnog a smooth, creamy texture.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps keep the frozen mixture softer rather than rock hard.
Brandy: Adds aroma and alcohol, which keeps the frozen mixture from freezing as solid.

The step that matters

Beating the eggs to a stiff foam. Whipping the eggs until they hold a stiff foam traps air that gives the frozen eggnog its light texture. Under-beaten eggs leave a denser, heavier result, so the foam should hold its shape before the sugar goes in.

“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.

Brandy Peaches68 recipes

Brandy Cream21 recipes

Brandy Pudding13 recipes

White Cake431 recipes

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Lalla Rookh or Frozen Egg-nog