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 ↓
Italian Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Make a custard by whisking the egg yolks and milk together over low heat until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, melted gelatine, and Curaçao.
Set and serve
Let the mixture cool, then fold in the whipped cream.
Pour the mixture into a mould and refrigerate until set.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,738 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,635 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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 with gentle heat and add richness.
- Double cream
- Adds fat and a light, airy texture when whipped and folded in.
- Gelatine
- Sets the mixture so it holds its shape when chilled.
- Castor sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the liqueur flavour.
The step that matters
Adding the melted gelatine. Gelatine must be fully melted and stirred into the warm custard so it disperses evenly. Adding it to a mixture that is too cold can leave lumps or streaks, and if the mixture cools too far before folding in the cream, it may begin to set unevenly.
“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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