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 ↓
Chocolate Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Grate the chocolate.
Boil the chocolate in the milk and cream with the sugar until smooth.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Finish and serve
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and drain on a sieve.
Once the chocolate cream is cool, pour it into glasses.
Top each glass with a spoonful of the egg froth.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Chocolate + creamtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,466 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Cream + milktop 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
- Chocolate
- Provides the main flavour and, once melted into the dairy, a smooth, rich body.
- Cream
- Adds fat, which gives the set custard a rich, smooth mouthfeel.
- Milk
- Adds liquid and body, thinning the cream while keeping the custard soft.
- Lump sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the bitterness of the chocolate.
- Eggs
- Whites whipped to stiff peaks form a light froth that tops each glass.
The step that matters
Whisking the egg whites to stiff peaks. Whites must be whipped until they hold stiff peaks to form a stable froth. Any trace of fat or yolk can stop them whipping, and under-whipped whites will collapse on top of the cream.
“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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