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Fakcy Dishes for Dessert

A layered sponge cake dessert soaked in brandy, jelly, and fruits, topped with custard and whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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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 ↓

Fakcy Dishes for Dessert

Ingredients

Directions

Soak the base

  1. In a large glass dish, layer sponge cakes at the bottom and wet them with brandy.

  2. Cover the cakes with a thin layer of jelly and sprinkle minced fruits on top.

  3. Add macaroons, wet them with sherry, and cover with more jelly.

  4. Set the dish in a cool place to allow the cakes to soak up the liquor.

Make the custard

  1. Scald the milk in a saucepan.

  2. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together.

  3. Make a paste of blanched almonds by pounding them with rose-water to prevent oiling.

  4. Stir the almond paste into the hot milk.

  5. Add the yolks and sugar mixture.

  6. Cook while stirring constantly for three minutes.

  7. Add corn-starch mixed with cold milk.

  8. Let the mixture thicken.

  9. Remove from heat and beat to break any lumps.

  10. Allow the custard to cool completely.

Finish and serve

  1. Whip the cream.

  2. Sweeten to taste.

  3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

  4. Fold them into the whipped cream.

  5. Pour the custard over the soaked cakes in the glass dish.

  6. Top with the 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.

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. Sherry + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together506 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

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

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

  4. Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,943 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, 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 and whites, whisked stiff, lighten the whipped cream.
Corn-starch
Thickens the custard so it sets smoothly when cooled.
Cream
Whipped to form a light, airy topping that adds richness.
Sponge cakes
Absorb the brandy and sherry, forming a soft, moist base.
Milk
Forms the body of the custard, adding richness and smoothness.

The step that matters

Cook the custard while stirring constantly. Egg yolks and starch can scorch or curdle on contact with hot surfaces. Constant stirring keeps heat even so the custard thickens smoothly rather than lumping.

“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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