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 Russe
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cream
Whip the cream to stiff peaks and drain it on a fine sieve.
Make the custard
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.
Soak the gelatine in a small amount of water, then warm it over hot water until dissolved.
Assemble and chill
Once the custard is cold, gently fold in the gelatine and whipped cream.
Line the bottom of a mold with buttered paper and the sides with sponge cake or lady-fingers secured with egg white.
Fill the mold with the cream mixture and chill in a cold place or on ice.
To unmold, briefly dip the mold in hot water.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Vanilla + sugartop 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).
Vanilla and sugar 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 gives the dessert its light, airy, creamy body.
- Eggs
- When heated, they thicken the milk into a custard that gives the filling its structure.
- Coxe's gelatine
- Sets the chilled filling so it holds its shape when the mold is removed.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, adding moisture and softness.
- Sponge cake or lady-fingers
- Forms the outer casing that holds the filling and gives it a firm edge.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard over hot water. Eggs thicken with gentle heat, and if the water is too hot or the mixture is heated too fast, the eggs can scramble, leaving lumps and a grainy texture instead of a smooth custard.
“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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