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 Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a basin, combine the egg yolks, sugar, coffee extract, and milk.
Mix well and heat over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and stir occasionally while it cools.
Finish and freeze
Once cool, add the raw cream and mix well.
Freeze the mixture using your preferred method.
Serve
Serve molded or shaped on a folded napkin.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Coffee + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Sugar + coffeetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set on gentle heat and add richness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and softens the texture of the frozen ice cream.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the yolks thicken into a custard.
- Raw cream
- Adds fat and richness, giving a smoother, creamier frozen texture.
- Coffee extract
- Provides the coffee flavour throughout the base.
The step that matters
Heating the custard until thickened. Egg yolks thicken as their proteins set with heat, but overheating can curdle them. Low heat and constant stirring keep the custard 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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