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 ↓
Charlotte Russe
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Combine milk, sugar, and isinglass in a saucepan and heat until dissolved.
Remove from heat and strain through a sieve.
Chill until it begins to set.
Add wine and flavor to taste.
Assemble and set
Once it starts to set, beat the cream to stiff peaks and fold it into the mixture.
Line Charlotte Russe molds with sponge cake.
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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Sugar + creamtop 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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + winetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,116 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (fenugreek, curry).
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Wine + creamtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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
- Isinglass
- Gelatin-like setting agent that firms the chilled mixture so it holds its shape.
- Cream
- Whipped to stiff peaks, it adds air and richness, giving a light, creamy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and helps balance the wine's flavor.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the setting agent dissolves into and sets.
- Sponge cake
- Lines the molds, giving the dessert a soft, absorbent outer structure.
The step that matters
Beat the cream just to stiff peaks. Cream beaten too little stays loose and deflates the set mixture, while overbeating turns it grainy and can cause it to separate into butter. Folding it in only once the base has begun to set keeps the air trapped and the dessert light.
“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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