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Dessert

Chocolate Caramel Frosting

A sweet frosting made from brown sugar, milk, chocolate, butter, and vanilla, used to coat cakes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 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 Caramel Frosting

Ingredients

Directions

Make the frosting

  1. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, milk, grated chocolate, and butter.

  2. Boil the mixture until it thickens, stirring frequently.

Finish and spread

  1. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract, and spread over cake while warm.

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. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

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

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

Brown sugar
Provides sweetness and caramel flavour as it cooks down into the frosting.
Milk
Adds moisture and dissolves the sugar so the mixture can thicken smoothly.
Sweet chocolate
Adds chocolate flavour and richness, and helps the frosting set firm.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, glossy texture and rich flavour.

The step that matters

Boiling until it thickens. Boiling drives off water and concentrates the sugar, so the frosting thickens as it cools. Stirring often prevents scorching on the bottom of the pan, which would give a burnt taste. Spreading too late, once it has set, makes it hard to work with.

“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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