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Dessert

Biscuits Glaces, in Small Cases

A chilled custard made with egg yolks, cream, and biscuits, served frozen in paper cases.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and sugar 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 ↓

Biscuits Glaces, in Small Cases

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a saucepan, combine egg yolks, cream, crushed ratafia biscuits, sugar, and salt.

  2. Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly.

  3. Pass the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl and let it cool.

Freeze and serve

  1. Once cooled, stir in the maraschino liqueur and freeze the mixture.

  2. Before serving, gently fold in the whipped cream.

  3. Fill the small paper cases with the iced custard and sprinkle with crushed ratafia biscuits.

  4. Serve the biscuits on a napkin.

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. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Cream + biscuittop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,235 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

  3. Biscuit + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  4. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked 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

Egg yolks
Thicken the custard as they set on gentle heating and enrich its texture.
Cream
Adds richness and fat, giving the frozen custard a smooth, creamy texture.
Ratafia biscuits
Provide almond flavour and a crumbly texture throughout the custard.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and softens the texture of the frozen mixture.
Maraschino liqueur
Adds aroma and flavour, and its alcohol keeps the frozen custard softer.
Whipped cream
Adds air and lightness, making the frozen dessert less dense.

The step that matters

Passing the custard through a fine sieve after cooking. Straining removes any bits of overcooked egg and crushed biscuit, so the custard stays smooth; cooking over medium heat only until it thickens prevents the yolks from scrambling.

“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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