Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Custard
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine egg yolks, milk, and sugar; stir in coloring if desired.
Set the saucepan in a larger pan of warm water over low heat.
Stir continuously until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon, avoiding boiling.
Alternatively, boil the milk first, then add it to the beaten egg yolks and sugar, stirring until thickened.
If using cream, beat it with the eggs before adding the boiling milk, then stir over low heat until thickened.
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.
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + condensed milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Cream + condensed milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together416 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the mixture as they set with gentle heat, giving the custard its structure.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that the egg yolks thicken into a smooth custard.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps keep the yolks smooth and tender while cooking.
- Cream
- Adds richness and fat, producing a softer, creamier texture.
The step that matters
Stir continuously and avoid boiling. Egg yolks set at low temperatures, but high heat or boiling can curdle them into lumps. Gentle, constant stirring keeps the custard smooth and evenly thickened.
“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
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 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.