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Dessert

Charlotte Russe

A chilled dessert made with ladyfingers, gelatin, milk, egg yolks, sugar, sweet cream, vanilla, and gelatin.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Charlotte Russe

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Dissolve the gelatin in the milk and place it in a double boiler.

  2. When boiling, add the beaten egg yolks and sugar, stirring until thick.

  3. Strain the mixture and let it cool.

Assemble and chill

  1. Stir in the whipped cream and vanilla.

  2. Line a mold with ladyfingers, trimming as needed.

  3. Pour the cream mixture into the mold.

  4. Cover with a piece of white paper and place the lid on top.

  5. Pack the mold in ice and salt and let it stand for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

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

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

  2. Cream + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

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

  5. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, 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

Egg yolks
Thicken the custard as they set when heated, giving the filling body and richness.
Gelatin
Sets the cream mixture so the charlotte holds its shape when unmolded.
Sweet cream
Adds richness and a light, airy texture when whipped and folded in.
Ladyfingers
Form the sponge-cake lining that holds the filling and gives the charlotte its structure.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard that the yolks thicken.

The step that matters

Cook the custard until thick without scrambling. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat; if they get too hot they curdle, leaving a grainy custard. Stirring constantly over the double boiler keeps the heat even.

“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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