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Dessert

Brandy Cream

A custard-like dessert made with blanched almonds, bitter almonds, milk, egg yolks, cream, brandy, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Brandy Cream

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 ↓

Brandy Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the almond base

  1. Boil the blanched almonds and bitter almonds in the milk.

  2. Let the mixture cool.

Make the cream

  1. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the cream and sugar.

  2. Add the cooled almond mixture and brandy, mixing well.

  3. Set the mixture over low heat, stirring until it thickens without boiling.

  4. Pour into cups or low glasses and let cool before serving.

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.

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.

  1. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

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

  2. Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,738 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  3. Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,635 recipes

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

  4. Almond + creamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,130 recipes

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

  5. Almond + milktop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,800 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Thicken the cream as they set gently over low heat, giving it a rich, smooth body.
Cream
Adds richness and a silky texture that carries the almond and brandy flavours.
Blanched almonds
Provide the base almond flavour, infused into the milk as it boils.
Brandy
Adds aroma and warmth that give the dessert its distinctive flavour.

The step that matters

Thickening over low heat without boiling. Egg yolks set when gently heated, but if the mixture boils they can scramble and curdle, leaving a grainy texture instead of a smooth custard. Low heat and constant stirring keep it silky.

“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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