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Dessert

Chocolate Cream a LA Colbert

A chilled chocolate cream dessert made with cream, sugar, chocolate, water, gelatin, and whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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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 ↓

Chocolate Cream a LA Colbert

Ingredients

Directions

Make the chocolate cream

  1. Boil the cream with the sugar until reduced to 1 quart.

  2. Melt the chocolate over low heat in the water.

  3. Mix the melted chocolate with the cream and soaked gelatine.

  4. Strain the mixture through a cloth into a basin.

Set and finish

  1. Stir on ice until it begins to set, then fold in the whipped cream.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Gelatine
Sets the cream so it holds its shape when chilled.
Chocolate
Provides the main flavour and richness, and firms slightly as it cools.
Cream
Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and body to the dessert.
Whipped cream
Lightens the mixture and adds airy volume when folded in.
Sugar
Sweetens the cream and balances the bitterness of the chocolate.

The step that matters

Stir on ice until it begins to set, then fold in the whipped cream. Gelatine sets as it cools, so the mixture must thicken to a soft set before the whipped cream goes in. If it sets fully, the whipped cream cannot blend smoothly, and if it is still liquid, the whipped cream deflates and the dessert will not hold its shape.

“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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