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 ↓
Strawberry Charlotte
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Make a boiled custard of one quart of milk, the yolks of six eggs and three-quarters of a cupful of sugar; flavor to taste.
Assemble the charlotte
Line a glass fruit-dish with slices of sponge cake dipped in sweet cream.
Lay upon this ripe strawberries sweetened to taste.
Then a layer of cake and strawberries as before.
When the custard is cold, pour over the whole.
Top and decorate
Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, adding a tablespoonful of sugar to each egg.
Put over the top.
Decorate the top with the largest berries saved out at the commencement.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
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 |
| 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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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).
-
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
- Eggs
- Egg yolks thicken the custard, and whipped whites add lightness to the topping.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the boiled custard that sets the dessert.
- Cream
- Whipped to a stiff froth, it adds airy richness to the topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard, the whites and the strawberries.
- Cox's gelatine
- Helps the custard set so the layers hold their shape when served.
The step that matters
Pour the custard only when it is cold. Warm custard would soften the sponge cake and make the layers collapse, while fully cooled custard sets into a firm, distinct layer.
“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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