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 ↓
Charlotte Russe
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
Dissolve as much gelatin as one of Cox's packets contains (size marked one shilling) in half a pint of new milk.
Pour the milk cold over the gelatin, leave to stand about half an hour, then set over the fire in a stew-pan.
Stir steadily until the gelatin is thoroughly melted.
Set the gelatin mixture aside.
Beat up the yolks of four eggs, adding ten ounces pulverized sugar.
Add the yolk-sugar mixture to the dissolved gelatin and milk, then return to fire and stir rapidly until it thickens.
Pour the mixture into a china bowl.
Add the cream and set
Whip up two quarts of rich cream, adding to the custard all the foam that rises until the whole quantity is used.
Pour the congealing cream into moulds lined with sponge cake or ladyfingers.
Set the mould in a tub, and finely pounded ice or snow, and salt packed closely around, so that the cream may freeze.
Serve within twenty-four hours.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 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 |
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).
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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk 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
- Gelatin (in the method)
- Sets the cream so it holds its shape when chilled and unmoulded.
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard and add richness and structure as they cook.
- Rich cream
- Whipped to foam, it adds lightness and a creamy body to the dessert.
- Pulverized sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the yolks thicken smoothly.
The step that matters
Stir the yolk-sugar mixture into the gelatin and stir rapidly until it thickens. Egg yolks can curdle or scramble if overheated. Constant stirring over moderate heat keeps the custard smooth while it thickens.
“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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