Skip to main content
Dessert

Fried Cream

A thickened milk custard fried into a crisp, creamy cake.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Ronald · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 11 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Vanilla and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,287 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Fried Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Put the milk into a double boiler with the salt and a piece of cinnamon or lemon zest.

  2. When it is at the boiling point add the sugar; then add the cornstarch and flour, which have been moistened in cold milk.

  3. Stir until thickened; remove, and turn it over the beaten yolks of the eggs.

  4. Place it on the fire again for a few minutes to set the eggs.

  5. Add the butter and flavoring, and strain it onto a flat dish, or biscuit tin, making a layer three quarters of an inch thick.

  6. Let it stand until perfectly cold and firm (it may be made the day before it is used).

Cut and bread

  1. Cut it into pieces three inches long and two inches wide.

  2. Handle the pieces carefully, using a broad knife blade.

  3. If the pudding stands long enough before being fried, it will not be difficult to handle.

  4. Cover each one with sifted cracker crumbs, then with egg, and again with crumbs; be sure they are completely covered.

Fry and serve

  1. Have the fat smoking hot, and do not fry too long.

  2. Fry the pieces in hot fat to an amber color.

  3. Lay them on a brown paper in the open oven to dry, sprinkle them with sugar, and serve on a folded napkin.

  4. The crust should be crisp, and the center creamy, the same as a croquette.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

851Calories
28 gProtein
26 gFat
123 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 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.

By Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

  1. Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla 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

Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard that thickens when heated with starch.
Eggs
Yolks thicken and set the custard so it can be cut and hold its shape.
Cornstarch
Thickens the milk as it heats, giving the custard a firm, sliceable body.
Flour
Adds additional thickening alongside cornstarch for a firmer custard.
Sugar
Adds sweetness to the custard and the finished sugared pieces.
Cracker crumbs (in the method)
Form the crisp, browned coating that protects the custard during frying.

The step that matters

Let the custard chill fully before cutting and frying. A custard must be cold and firm to hold its shape. Cutting or frying it while warm causes it to slump and break apart in the hot fat.

“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.

You might also like

Vanilla Ice CreamVanilla Ice Cream108 recipesCinnamon RollsCinnamon Rolls71 recipesCinnamon CakeCinnamon Cake42 recipesWhite CakeWhite Cake431 recipes