Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 Ckeam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatin
Soak half an ounce of Coxe's gelatin in a little cold water for half an hour.
Make the coffee custard
Place it over boiling water and add one gill of strong coffee and one gill of sugar.
When the gelatin is well dissolved, take from the fire.
Stir in three gills of cold cream and strain into your mould.
Set the cake
Wet the mould with cold water before pouring the mixture in.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 4 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Coffee | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | 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.
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.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
-
Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatin
- Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable body as it cools.
- Cold cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the set mixture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and balances the bitterness of the coffee.
- Strong coffee
- Provides the main coffee flavour throughout the dish.
The step that matters
Dissolve the gelatin fully before removing it from the heat. Gelatin only sets properly when its granules are completely dissolved and evenly distributed. Undissolved specks left in the liquid can create a grainy texture or weak spots in the set mould.
“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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