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Dessert

Fried Cream

A fried custard dessert made from milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks, cornstarch, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,287 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Fried Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a saucepan, combine the cinnamon with the milk and heat until just before boiling.

  2. Stir in the sugar until dissolved.

  3. Dissolve the cornstarch and flour in a little milk, then add to the boiling milk.

  4. Boil for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg yolks.

  5. Return to heat until the mixture sets, then remove from heat and take out the cinnamon.

  6. Stir in the butter and vanilla, then pour onto a large platter and let cool.

Coat and fry

  1. Once cooled, cut into pieces and shape as desired.

  2. Roll each piece in cracker crumbs and beaten egg white, then in cracker crumbs again.

  3. Let stand for 15 to 30 minutes.

  4. Fry in a wire basket in boiling lard until golden brown.

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. Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

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

  5. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Milk
Forms the liquid base that cooks with the starches and sets into the custard.
Egg yolks
Thicken the custard and add richness as they set with heat.
Cornstarch
Thickens the milk so the custard holds its shape once cooled.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and helps give it a smooth, tender texture.
Butter
Adds fat for a richer flavor and a softer, smoother texture.

The step that matters

Return to heat until the mixture sets. Egg yolks can curdle or scramble if overheated, and the custard must thicken enough to hold its shape once cooled and cut. Heat gently and stir constantly.

“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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