Why it works: Cinnamon and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,287 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓
Custards
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
Combine milk or cream and half the sugar in a saucepan.
Add flavorings and simmer for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, beat the yolks of the eggs with the remaining milk or cream.
Remove the hot mixture from the heat and slowly stir in the egg mixture.
Return to low heat and stir until thickened, but do not boil.
Cool and serve
Remove from heat and let cool, stirring occasionally.
Pour into custard glasses or a mold and refrigerate until set.
Garnish with whipped cream before serving.
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.
-
Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,287 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
-
Arrowroot + vanillatop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together242 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Arrowroot + lemontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together553 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Arrowroot + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together166 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Milk or cream
- Provides the liquid base and richness that the custard sets around.
- Eggs
- Egg proteins coagulate on heating, thickening the liquid into a set custard.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps keep the custard smooth and tender.
- Arrowroot
- Starch that thickens the custard and helps keep it stable as it cools.
The step that matters
Return to low heat and stir until thickened, but do not boil.. Egg proteins set gently at moderate heat; boiling can curdle the eggs and leave the custard grainy or watery, so it must be stirred and watched closely.
Swap the arrowroot
The recipe marks arrowroot as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar, cinnamon, mace, lemon, vanilla):
- Arrowrootthe original
- Sweet potatofits about as well
- Capsicumfits less well
- Carrotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar, cinnamon, mace, lemon, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
More custard recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.