Name: Raspberry Cream
Ingredients: 1 pint cream; ½ cup sugar; ½ cup raspberry juice or syrup; 1 glass brandy; optional: milk

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 ↓

Raspberry Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the raspberry juice

Mash the raspberries gently.
Let the raspberries drain.
Sprinkle a little sugar over the raspberries to produce more juice.

Make the cream mixture

Combine the raspberry juice with cream.
Sweeten the mixture to taste.
If desired, add milk to the mixture to prevent curdling.
For best results, use raspberry jelly instead of jam if fresh fruit is unavailable.
Alternatively, boil 1 ounce of isinglass in 3 pints of cream and milk for 15 minutes until melted.
Strain the mixture into a basin.
Let the strained mixture cool.

Finish and set

Add raspberry juice or syrup to the cooled mixture.
Stir until well combined.
Sweeten the mixture.
Add a glass of brandy.
Whisk until three parts cold.
Pour the mixture into a mold.
Refrigerate until completely cold.

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.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Raspberry + milktop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,014 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Raspberry + brandytop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together235 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (freshly cut grass green and herbaceous notes).
Brandy + milktop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,738 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,635 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Cream: Provides richness and a smooth, creamy body to the set dessert.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the raspberries.
Raspberry juice or syrup: Supplies the main raspberry flavor and color.
Brandy: Adds aroma and a warm, spirited flavor.
Isinglass (in the method): Helps the mixture set into a firm, sliceable cream.