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
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Combine milk, sugar, and isinglass in a saucepan and heat until dissolved.
Strain the mixture through a sieve and chill until it begins to set.
Add wine and flavor to taste.
Beat the cream to stiff peaks and fold it into the mixture once it starts to set.
Assemble and chill
Line Charlotte Russe molds with sponge cake and add a layer of jelly at the bottom.
Fill the molds with the custard mixture and refrigerate for two hours.
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.
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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).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + winetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,116 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (fenugreek, curry).
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Wine + creamtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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
- Isinglass
- Gelatin-like setting agent that firms the custard as it cools.
- Cream
- Whipped to stiff peaks, it adds lightness and a rich, creamy texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, giving body and richness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and softens its flavor.
- Wine
- Adds flavor and aroma to the custard.
- Sponge cake
- Lines the mold, giving the dessert a soft, absorbent structure.
The step that matters
Fold the cream in at the right moment. The cream must be folded in once the mixture just starts to set. If it is too liquid, the cream deflates and the custard will not hold its shape; if it is too firm, the cream will not blend in evenly.
“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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