Why it works: White wine and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,832 recipes. Both carry myrcene, which smells balsamic, herbaceous. The science ↓
Bavarian Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
Mix lemon juice, white wine, sugar, and egg yolks in a saucepan.
Stir vigorously over low heat until the mixture thickens.
Soak the gelatin in cold water.
Add the soaked gelatin to the mixture.
Set and serve
Beat the mixture until stiff enough to hold its shape.
Turn the mixture into a mould lined with lady fingers and chill 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.
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.
-
White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
White wine + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,586 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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 mixture and add richness as they cook over low heat.
- Gelatine
- Sets the cream so it holds its shape when chilled.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cream and balances the acidity of the lemon juice.
- White wine
- Adds liquid and a light acidic flavour to the cream.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright flavour that cuts the sweetness of the cream.
The step that matters
Stir vigorously over low heat until the mixture thickens. Egg yolks thicken as they heat, but if the heat is too high or stirring stops, they can scramble and curdle. Gentle, constant stirring keeps the custard smooth.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Applefits less well
- Plumfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
More bavarian cream recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.