Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Chocolate Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a saucepan, combine the grated chocolate, milk, and sugar.
Boil the mixture, stirring continuously until the chocolate is fully dissolved.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then gradually mix in the chocolate mixture to create a custard.
Add vanilla extract to taste.
Chill and freeze
Cool the custard and then freeze it until set.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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
- Chocolate
- Provides the main flavour and, once melted into the milk, the body of the cream.
- Eggs
- Thicken the custard as they set with heat, giving it a smooth, sliceable texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the chocolate dissolves into and the eggs thicken.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cream and softens the texture of the frozen custard.
The step that matters
Gradually mixing the hot chocolate into the eggs. Adding hot liquid to eggs too quickly can scramble them. Pouring slowly while whisking gently warms the eggs so they thicken smoothly into a custard.
“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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