Name: Chocolate Cream Sauce
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 cup heavy cream; 2 tablespoons cocoa powder or chocolate; 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 4 egg yolks; a pinch of salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Chocolate Cream Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

In a double boiler, dissolve the sugar and chocolate together.
Gradually add the cream and bring it close to a boil.
Stir in the beaten egg yolks and cornstarch until the mixture thickens; add more cornstarch if needed.
Remove from heat, add the butter, and strain the sauce.

Finish and serve

Flavor with vanilla and serve, optionally adding chopped nuts.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cocoa powder + vanillatop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,189 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Cream + cocoa powdertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together826 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

Egg yolks: Thicken the sauce as they set with gentle heat, giving it a rich, smooth body.
Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce by swelling in the hot liquid, adding body without much flavor.
Heavy cream: Provides fat and moisture, giving the sauce a smooth, rich texture.
Cocoa powder or chocolate: Supplies the chocolate flavor that defines the sauce.
Butter: Adds fat for richness and a glossy, smooth mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Stir in the egg yolks and cornstarch gently over moderate heat. Egg yolks set at around 160°F and can scramble if overheated, leaving a grainy sauce. Keep the heat moderate, stir constantly, and remove the pan once the sauce thickens so the proteins stay smooth.

“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.