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Dessert

Lady Finger Dessert

A chilled chocolate mousse layered with ladyfingers and topped with whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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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 ↓

Lady Finger Dessert

Ingredients

Directions

Make the chocolate mixture

  1. Combine sweet chocolate, water, and granulated sugar in a double boiler.

  2. Boil the mixture until smooth.

  3. Let the mixture cool.

  4. Add egg yolks to the cooled mixture.

  5. Boil again until thick.

  6. Let the mixture cool.

  7. Cream unsalted butter with confectioner's sugar.

  8. Mix in the cooled chocolate mixture.

  9. Beat egg whites and add to the mixture.

Assemble and chill

  1. Line a 9-inch springform pan with lady fingers, standing them close together around the edge.

  2. Cut remaining lady fingers into small pieces.

  3. Place the cut lady fingers in the bottom of the pan.

  4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan.

  5. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Finish and serve

  1. Three hours before serving, remove from the pan.

  2. Cover with whipped cream sweetened to taste.

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.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Chocolate + creamtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Chocolate + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,543 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Egg yolks thicken the cooked chocolate, and whipped egg whites lighten the filling.
Unsalted butter
Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the chocolate filling.
Sweet chocolate
Provides the main chocolate flavor and body of the filling.
Lady fingers
Sponge structure that holds the filling and gives the trifle its shape.

The step that matters

Boil again until thick. Egg yolks must be cooked enough to thicken the chocolate, but overheating can scramble them and make the mixture grainy. Keep the heat gentle and stir constantly.

“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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