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
Dissolve the chocolate in a few tablespoons of water over low heat until a thick, smooth paste forms.
Add the milk, vanilla, and sugar, and bring to a boil.
Thicken the mixture with the corn flour, then remove from heat to cool slightly.
Beat the eggs well and gradually stir them into the thickened chocolate mixture.
Return to low heat, stirring gently without boiling until well thickened.
Cool and serve
Let the cream cool, then serve in custard glasses or over sponge cakes or macaroons.
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.
-
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the custard as they set when gently heated, and add richness.
- Corn flour
- Thickens the milk mixture into a smooth, stable custard.
- Chocolate
- Provides the main flavour and, melted into water, forms a thick base.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and adds creaminess.
The step that matters
Return to low heat, stirring gently without boiling until well thickened.. Egg proteins set when heated, but if the custard boils they can curdle and turn grainy. Gentle, constant stirring over low heat keeps it smooth while the corn flour thickens.
“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 chocolate custard recipes
You might also like
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
Corn Cake90 recipes
Corn Starch Cake89 recipes
Chocolate Cookies76 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.