Why it works: Cream and sugar 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 ↓
Brandy Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cream base
Heat 1 quart of rich cream until boiling.
Beat 3 eggs in a separate bowl.
Remove the cream from heat.
Stir in the beaten eggs.
Add the brandy and serve
Dissolve loaf sugar in ½ pint of French brandy to taste.
Wait until the cream mixture is cold.
Stir in the brandy and sugar, then beat well.
Serve in glasses.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,635 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Brandy and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Rich cream
- Forms the body of the drink and gives it a smooth, rich mouthfeel.
- Eggs
- Add richness and body, thickening the cream and giving it a silky texture.
- French brandy
- Supplies the alcohol flavour and aroma that define the drink.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the richness of the cream and the sharpness of the brandy.
The step that matters
Stir in the beaten eggs after removing the cream from heat. Eggs scramble when they meet very hot liquid. Taking the cream off the heat first lets the eggs blend in smoothly and keeps the mixture silky rather than lumpy.
“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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