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 ↓
Coffee Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatine
Soak the gelatine in a little cold water for 30 minutes.
Place the soaked gelatine over boiling water.
Make the cream
Add the strong coffee and sugar to the gelatine, stirring until dissolved.
Remove from heat and stir in the cold cream.
Strain the mixture into a mold that has been wet with cold water.
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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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid cream into a firm, sliceable structure as it cools.
- Cold cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the set dessert.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the coffee mixture and balances its bitterness.
- Strong coffee
- Provides the main flavour of the dessert.
The step that matters
Stir in the cold cream off the heat. Gelatine sets as it cools, so if the mixture is still hot or the gelatine is not fully dissolved, the set will be uneven. Removing it from heat first keeps the cream from curdling and lets the gelatine stay evenly dispersed before the mould sets it.
“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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