Why it works: Brandy and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,635 recipes. Both carry 2-heptanol, which smells bitter, floral. The science ↓
Caramel Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Blanch the almonds, split them into thin strips, and dry in the oven.
Dissolve the gelatin in the cold water.
Whisk the cream until stiff.
Make the cream
Pour the custard over the caramel.
When cool, add the brandy.
Pour the mixture over the whipped cream.
Stir in the gelatin.
Sprinkle in the almonds last.
Turn into a mold rinsed with cold water.
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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Brandy + creamtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,635 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Almond + creamtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,130 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Brandy + almondtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,969 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
- Whipped to stiff foam, it gives the dessert its light, airy body.
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid mixture into a firm, sliceable dessert as it cools.
- Custard
- Supplies the creamy base and sweetness that the rest of the mixture is built on.
- Caramel
- Adds deeper, toasted sweetness and colour to the custard base.
- Sweet almonds
- Add crunch and nutty flavour to the set cream.
The step that matters
Stir in the gelatin. Gelatine must be dissolved fully and added while the mixture is still liquid but no longer hot. Lumps or early setting leave a grainy texture, and if the mixture is too hot the whipped cream can deflate.
“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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