Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the filling
Combine sugar, flour, butter, egg yolks, chocolate, and cold water in a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until thick, then add vanilla extract.
Pour the mixture into a pre-baked pie crust.
Make the meringue and finish
Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.
Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
Spread the meringue over the chocolate filling and brown in the oven.
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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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the filling as they set with heat, giving it a rich, smooth body.
- Flour
- Thickens the filling by absorbing liquid as it cooks, giving it body.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that forms the meringue topping, giving it volume and structure.
- Baker's chocolate
- Gives the filling its chocolate flavour and deep colour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, whipped with the whites, stabilises the meringue.
The step that matters
Whipping the meringue to stiff peaks. Sugar must be added gradually so the whites form a stable foam. Under-whipped meringue stays runny and weeps, while over-whipped egg whites turn grainy and dry.
“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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