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Dessert

Chocolate Cream

A chilled chocolate custard made with milk, sugar, gelatin, chocolate, eggs, cream, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Chocolate Cream

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Chocolate Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard base

  1. In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar, chocolate, and gelatin.

  2. Heat while whisking until dissolved.

  3. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks.

  4. Once the milk mixture shows the first sign of boiling, add the yolks and cook for 1 minute.

  5. Strain the mixture into a freezer bowl set in ice water.

Finish and set

  1. Add the cup of cream to the mixture in the freezer bowl.

  2. Flavor with vanilla and beat as it cools.

  3. Fold in the whipped egg whites and beat for an additional 6 minutes.

  4. Pour the cream into oiled molds or serve by spoonfuls with sweetened whipped cream.

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.

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.

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

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

  2. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

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

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 custard and add richness as they cook gently with the milk.
Egg whites
Whipped and folded in to lighten the mixture and give it an airy texture.
Gelatin
Sets the chilled mixture so it holds its shape in molds or spoonfuls.
Milk
Forms the liquid base that the chocolate, sugar and yolks are cooked into.
Cream
Adds fat and richness, giving a smoother, softer mouthfeel.
Grated chocolate
Provides the main flavor and color of the dessert.

The step that matters

Cooking the yolks into the milk mixture. Egg yolks can scramble if added to a very hot liquid. Adding them once the mixture just starts to boil, while whisking, and cooking briefly lets them thicken smoothly instead of curdling.

“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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