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 ↓
Trifles — Continued
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the layers
Layer pieces of sponge cake in a trifle dish and soak with sweet white wine.
Whisk together sweet white wine, cream, and sugar until stiff.
Add a layer of fruit over the soaked sponge cake.
Finish and serve
Top with the whipped cream and pour the remaining cream into the bottom of the dish.
Garnish with flowers.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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White wine + creamtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,760 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
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White wine + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,586 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cream
- Whipped into a stiff foam that forms the light, rich topping and adds creamy texture.
- Sweet white wine
- Soaks into the sponge cake, adding moisture and a light fruity flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the wine and the tartness of the fruit.
- Preserved strawberries or raspberries
- Adds fruity sweetness and acidity that cut through the rich cream.
The step that matters
Whisking the cream until stiff. Cream whips by trapping air in fat and protein. Stop once it holds firm peaks, because overwhipping pushes the fat particles together and turns it grainy and buttery.
“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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