Why it works: Milk and coffee are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,202 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓
Coffee Custard
six cupsIngredients
Directions
Prepare the custard
In a basin, combine milk, coffee, sugar, and egg yolks.
Mix well and strain the mixture.
Fill six cups with the mixture and skim off any froth.
Cook and cool
Place the cups in a flat stew-pan filled with water.
Cover with live coals or cook over a very low fire for 15 minutes.
Once set, let the cups cool in the 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.
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Milk + coffeetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Provide the protein that sets the custard into a firm, creamy texture when gently heated.
- Milk
- Supplies the liquid base and fat that give the custard its smooth, rich body.
- Powdered white sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the bitterness of the coffee.
- Coffee
- Gives the custard its coffee flavour and aroma.
The step that matters
Cook over very low, gentle heat. Egg proteins set at temperatures near 180°F, and higher heat makes them tighten and curdle, leaving a grainy texture. Gentle water-bath heat lets the custard set smoothly.
“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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