Why it works: Sugar and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Chocolate Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the glaze
Combine water, sugar, and grated chocolate in a small saucepan.
Boil until thickened and velvety.
Remove from heat and add egg whites without beating.
Finish the cake
While hot, use mixture to cover the top and sides of the cake.
Let it cool; it will firm.
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 + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Chocolate + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptenal (green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Dissolves into the syrup and, as it thickens, gives the glaze its sweetness and body.
- Grated chocolate
- Provides the chocolate flavour and, as it melts into the syrup, the glaze's colour.
- Egg whites
- Added off the heat without beating, they thicken gently and help the glaze set firm as it cools.
The step that matters
Adding the egg whites off the heat without beating. Egg whites added to a very hot syrup can scramble or cook unevenly. Adding them off the heat and stirring gently lets them blend smoothly and thicken the glaze instead.
“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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