Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Charlotte Russe
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Dissolve isinglass and sugar in warm water and strain through a fine sieve.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.
Add fresh cream to the eggs and beat until the mixture is thick.
Assemble and chill
Line a dish with slices of sponge cake.
Pour the mixture into the lined dish and chill on ice until ready to serve.
Flavor as desired.
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.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, 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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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Isinglass
- Gelatin-like setting agent that firms the mixture as it chills.
- Eggs
- Add richness and help thicken and structure the creamy filling.
- Fresh cream
- Provides fat and body, giving the filling a light, rich texture.
- Sponge cake
- Forms the edible lining that holds the filling in shape.
The step that matters
Beating the cream and eggs until thick. Whipping incorporates air into the cream and eggs, creating a foam that gives the filling its light texture. Under-beating leaves a dense, runny mixture, while over-beating can cause cream to turn grainy or separate.
“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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