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 ↓
Charlotte Russe
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatine
Soak the gelatine in the milk for 20 minutes.
Dissolve the gelatine in a bowl set in hot water until lukewarm.
Make the cream mixture
In a large bowl, combine the whipped cream, powdered sugar, salt, beaten egg whites, and flavoring.
Add the dissolved gelatine to the cream mixture and stir until well combined.
Mould and set
When the mixture is nearly stiff enough to hold its shape, pour it into a mold.
Optionally, line the mold with narrow slices of sponge cake before adding the mixture.
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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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Knox's sparkling gelatine
- Sets the mixture into a firm, sliceable structure as it cools.
- Whipped cream
- Adds air and richness, giving the dessert a light, creamy texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to foam, they add airy lightness and help the dessert hold its shape.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and dissolves easily into the cream without graininess.
The step that matters
Pour when nearly stiff. If the mixture is poured too early it will not hold its shape, and if the gelatine has set too far it will clump and give a rubbery, lumpy texture. Pouring at the nearly stiff stage lets the dessert set firm yet still smooth.
“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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