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Dessert

Charlotte Russe

A chilled custard dessert made with egg yolks, powdered sugar, gelatin, milk, vanilla, egg whites, and whipped heavy cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 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 ↓

Charlotte Russe

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Beat the yolks of 4 eggs with ¾ cup powdered sugar.

  2. Dissolve ⅓ box of gelatin in 1 cup milk after letting it stand for 10 minutes.

  3. Place the cup of milk in hot water on the back of the stove, stirring frequently until dissolved.

  4. Remove from heat to prevent curdling, then pour over the egg and sugar mixture.

  5. Add 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract when cool, then fold in the beaten whites of 4 eggs.

Finish and chill

  1. Let the mixture cool completely, then fold in 1 quart of whipped heavy cream.

  2. Chill in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

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

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

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

  5. Sugar + creamtop 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

Egg yolks
Enrich the custard and thicken it as it gently heats, adding richness and colour.
Gelatin
Sets the mixture so the dessert holds its shape when chilled.
Egg whites
Whipped and folded in, they lighten the mixture and add airy volume.
Heavy cream
Whipped and folded in, it adds richness and a light, creamy texture.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the custard and dissolves easily into the yolks.

The step that matters

Remove from heat before adding the gelatin mixture to the eggs. Hot custard can curdle when egg yolks are heated too quickly or too far. Taking the milk off the heat before pouring it over the yolks and sugar keeps the eggs smooth.

“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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