Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Chocolate Fudge
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine confectioner's sugar, butter, chocolate, and cream.
Boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir until the mixture thickens.
Pour into buttered pans and let cool.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Chocolate + creamtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,466 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + chocolatetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,543 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Confectioner's sugar
- Provides the sweetness and the bulk that gives the fudge its body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, tender texture and a richer mouthfeel.
- Baker's chocolate
- Supplies the chocolate flavour and fat that firm the fudge as it sets.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and fat so the sugar dissolves into a smooth, creamy mixture.
The step that matters
Stir until the mixture thickens. Removing the pan from heat and stirring while the mixture cools lets sugar crystals form in a fine, even network. Stirring too early or too long can make the fudge grainy or cause it to set too hard.
“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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