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Dessert

Chocolate Cream in Molds

A gelatin-set chocolate custard poured into molds and chilled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 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 ↓

Chocolate Cream in Molds

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 2 hours.

  2. Heat the milk in a double boiler.

  3. Combine the chocolate, sugar, and boiling water in a small pan and stir over heat until smooth.

Make the custard

  1. Stir the chocolate mixture into the hot milk.

  2. Beat the egg yolks with sugar and add to the gelatine.

  3. Stir the mixture into the hot milk and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

  4. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt.

Mould and set

  1. Strain and pour into rinsed molds.

  2. Set aside to harden and serve with sugar and cream.

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. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

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

  4. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Gelatine
Sets the liquid mixture into a firm, sliceable mold as it cools.
Egg yolks
Thicken the custard and add richness and a smooth, creamy texture.
Milk
Forms the liquid base and provides creaminess and body.
Chocolate
Gives the dessert its main flavor and adds fat for a smoother mouthfeel.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the bitterness of the chocolate.

The step that matters

Cooking the custard gently while stirring constantly. Egg yolks thicken when heated, but if the mixture gets too hot or is left unstirred, the proteins can scramble and the custard turns grainy. Steady, constant stirring keeps it smooth and evenly thickened.

“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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