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 Filling No. 2
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Beat well together two yolks of eggs and a half tablespoonful of sugar.
Scald a half cupful of milk, and stir it into the beaten yolks; add a dash of salt, and return it to the double boiler.
Stir it over the fire until it coats the spoon, thus making a plain boiled custard.
Set and fold
Add to the hot custard a level tablespoonful of Cooper's gelatine, which has soaked for half an hour in four tablespoonfuls of cold water.
Stir until the gelatine is dissolved, then strain it into a bowl.
Add two tablespoonfuls of sherry (or use any flavoring desired) and the whipped whites of two eggs.
Beat until it just begins to thicken.
Mix in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth, and turn into the mold.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 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 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| 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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Milk + creamtop 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).
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
- Yolks of eggs
- Thicken the custard and enrich it as they cook over the fire.
- Gelatine (in the method)
- Sets the filling so it holds its shape when turned out of the mold.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a light, airy texture when folded in whipped.
- Whites of eggs
- Whipped to foam, they lighten the filling and help it set with air.
The step that matters
Stir the custard until it coats the spoon. Egg yolks thicken as they heat, but overheating can curdle them. Stop as soon as the custard coats the spoon, since the gelatine must then dissolve evenly into a smooth base.
“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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