Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Charlotte Russe
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the molds
Cut stale sponge cake into slices about half an inch thick and line three molds with them, leaving a space of half an inch between each slice; set the molds where they will not be disturbed until the filling is ready.
Take a deep tin pan and fill about one-third full of either snow or pounded ice and into this set another pan that will hold at least four quarts.
Whip the cream
Into a deep bowl or pail (a whip churn is better) put one and a half pints of cream (if the cream is very thick take one pint of cream and a half pint of milk). Whip the cream to a froth.
When the bowl is full, skim the froth into the pan which is standing on the ice and repeat until the cream is all froth.
With a spoon draw the froth to one side and you will find that some of the cream has gone back to milk. Turn the milk back into the bowl and whip as before.
Have the cream ice cold when you begin to whip it; and it is a good plan to put a lump of ice into the cream while whipping it.
Make the filling and set
When the cream is all whipped, stir into it two-thirds of a cup of powdered sugar, one teaspoonful of vanilla and half of a box of gelatin, which has been soaked in cold water enough to cover it for one hour and then put in boiling water enough to dissolve it (about half a cup). Stir from the bottom of the pan until it begins to grow stiff.
Fill the molds and set them on ice in the pan for one hour, or until they are set to the table.
When ready to dish them, loosen lightly at the sides and turn out on a flat dish.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Cream
- Whipped into a foam that gives the dessert its light, airy structure.
- Sponge cake (in the method)
- Lines the molds, giving the dessert a soft, absorbent base and a cake-like edge.
- Gelatin (in the method)
- Sets the whipped cream so the filling holds its shape when turned out.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the filling and dissolves smoothly into the cream.
- Milk
- Stands in for part of the cream when the cream is very thick, keeping the filling light.
The step that matters
Have the cream ice cold when whipping. Cold cream whips to a stable foam because its fat globules stay firm and trap air; warm cream stays runny and collapses. Keeping the bowl chilled with ice helps the froth hold until the gelatin sets 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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