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 ↓
Bavarian Cream
makes four shellsIngredients
Directions
Make the custard
Scald the milk in a double boiler with vanilla bean.
Pour the hot milk over the beaten eggs and sugar; add salt.
Return to the fire and let thicken.
Dissolve the gelatin in a very little water and add to the cooled custard.
Stir until it begins to congeal and fold in the whipped cream with a wire whisk.
Pour the mixture into a mold and set on ice.
Make the meringue shells
Add a tiny pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat until very stiff.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the stiffly beaten eggs and continue beating until the mixture holds its shape when dropped from a spoon.
Drop spoonfuls onto heavy writing paper on inverted biscuit tins, forming oblong shapes, and sprinkle with sugar.
If inclined to stick, moisten the paper to loosen the meringue.
Place in a very slow oven and keep the door open for the first thirty minutes.
Bake about one hour and a half, allowing the meringue to just turn color.
Scoop out the middle of each meringue and return to the oven upside down to dry out.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Milk
- Forms the base of the custard, carrying the vanilla and setting into a smooth cream.
- Eggs
- Thicken the custard when gently heated and give the meringue its structure.
- Whipped cream
- Adds lightness and airy texture to the chilled cream.
- Gelatin (in the method)
- Sets the cooled custard so it holds its shape when chilled.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and, dissolved into beaten egg whites, stabilizes the meringue.
The step that matters
Baking the meringue slowly with the door open. A very slow oven with the door propped open dries the meringue gradually, so it sets without browning or cracking. Baking too hot would brown or collapse it.
“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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