Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Charlotte Rttsse
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cream and custard
Whip the cream to stiff peaks and drain well using a fine sieve.
In a bowl, combine the milk and beaten eggs, then sweeten and flavor with vanilla.
Cook the mixture over hot water until it thickens into a custard.
Add the gelatine
Soak the gelatine in a small amount of water, then warm it over hot water until dissolved.
Once the custard is cold, gently fold in the gelatine and whipped cream.
Line the mold and set
Line the bottom of a mold with buttered paper.
Line the sides with sponge cake or ladyfingers secured with egg white.
Pour the cream mixture into the mold and chill in a cold place or on ice.
To unmold, briefly dip the mold in hot water.
Re-whip any cream that drips through the sieve.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rich cream
- Whipped to stiff peaks, it forms the light, airy body of the dessert.
- Eggs
- Thicken the milk into a custard that gives the charlotte its rich structure.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, adding moisture and softness.
- Cox's gelatine
- Sets the folded cream so the charlotte holds its shape when unmolded.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard over hot water. Eggs thicken gently at moderate heat; if the water is too hot or the mixture is overcooked, the eggs can scramble and turn grainy, ruining the smooth texture.
“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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