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 ↓
Vanilla Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Beat the yolks of 3 eggs and 1 white in a basin with a wooden spoon.
Stir in ½ pint of milk.
Pour this mixture into a jug.
Fill a saucepan half full of hot water and bring it to a boil.
Once boiling, move the saucepan to the side of the fire.
Place the jug of custard in the boiling water and stir until it thickens to the consistency of cream.
When thickened, remove the jug from the water and let it cool.
Add the gelatine
Soak ½ ounce of gelatine in a small saucepan with ¼ cup of cold water.
Heat the saucepan and stir the gelatine until melted.
Strain the melted gelatine and stir it into the custard.
Finish and set
Whip ½ pint of double cream in a basin until stiff.
Add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon of essence of vanilla to the whipped cream.
Once the custard is cool, gently fold it into the whipped cream.
Scald a 1½ pint mold with hot water, then rinse 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.
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.
-
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
-
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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 set with gentle heat, giving body and richness.
- Gelatine
- Sets the cream so it holds its shape when chilled and unmolded.
- Double cream
- Whipped into air and folded through, it gives a light, rich, creamy texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that thickens with the eggs.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the whipped cream and dissolves easily into it.
The step that matters
Thickening the custard over water. Eggs thicken only at gentle heat; if the water boils hard or the custard is overheated, the eggs can scramble and turn grainy. Stirring keeps the heat even.
“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.
More vanilla cream recipes
You might also like
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.