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 Custards
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Scald the milk in a saucepan.
Stir in the sugar and grated chocolate until dissolved.
Boil gently for five minutes, then add the egg yolks.
Cook for five more minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Remove from heat and let it cool slightly, then whisk in the vanilla.
Pour the mixture into custard cups.
Top and serve
Whip the egg whites with a little powdered sugar or half a cup of jelly until stiff.
Heap the whipped egg whites on top of the custards before serving.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard as they cook, while whipped whites form the light topping.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the egg yolks set into a creamy custard.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
- Grated chocolate
- Provides the chocolate flavour and colour throughout the custard.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard after adding the yolks. Egg yolks set when heated, but if the custard boils hard or is overcooked, the yolks can curdle and turn grainy. Stirring constantly keeps the heat even so it thickens smoothly.
“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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