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 ↓
Soft-boiled Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the milk
Place a quart of rich milk in a double boiler over the fire, add a third of a vanilla bean split in half, and sugar to taste.
Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth, then add three heaping teaspoonfuls of granulated sugar.
Poach the meringue
When the milk reaches a boil, drop the beaten egg whites into the milk by tablespoonfuls in an egg shape.
Turn the egg whites over in the hot milk for a few seconds.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all egg whites are cooked, then drain them and return the milk to the saucepan.
Make the custard
Beat the six egg yolks to a light cream.
Gradually pour the hot milk over the yolks while stirring.
Return the mixture to the boiler, heat over the fire, and stir vigorously until it thickens and becomes smooth.
Remove from the fire, pour the custard into a bowl, add a little salt, and set aside to cool.
Chill the custard on ice.
Serve
At serving time, pour the custard into a glass bowl, arrange the cooked egg whites on top, and serve with sponge cake.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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Egg + sugartop 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
- Yolks thicken the custard and whites form the poached meringue floating on top.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and carries the flavour of the vanilla.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilise the beaten egg whites.
- Vanilla bean (in the method)
- Infuses aroma into the milk, giving the custard its flavour.
The step that matters
Stirring the yolks into the hot milk. Adding hot milk to yolks too quickly, or without stirring, can scramble the eggs. Pour slowly while stirring so the yolks warm gradually and thicken smoothly.
“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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