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Dessert

Cream of Tea

A chilled dessert made from strong tea, sugar, egg yolks, cream, gelatin, and whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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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 ↓

Cream of Tea

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a saucepan, combine the strong tea and sugar.

  2. Mix in the beaten egg yolks and stir over low heat until thickened, avoiding boiling.

  3. Strain the mixture through a cloth.

Finish and set

  1. Add the cream and melted gelatin dissolved in a little hot water, stirring thoroughly.

  2. Fold in enough whipped cream to make a total of 1 pint.

  3. Pour into a mold and refrigerate until set.

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. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

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

  2. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

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

  3. Tea + creamtop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together463 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  4. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Tea + sugartop 31% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,204 recipes

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

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 over gentle heat, and add richness.
Gelatine
Sets the liquid cream mixture so it holds its shape when chilled.
Cream
Adds fat and softness, giving the set dessert a smooth, rich texture.
Sugar
Sweetens the tea and balances its tannin bitterness.
Whipped cream
Adds airiness and lightness, making the final dessert softer and more delicate.

The step that matters

Stir over low heat without boiling. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat, but boiling can curdle them and leave a grainy texture. Low, steady heat keeps the custard smooth.

“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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