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Dessert

Custard Mould

A set custard made with milk, eggs, sugar, gelatin, brandy, and vanilla, chilled until firm.

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

Custard Mould

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it is near boiling.

  2. Add the sugar and well-beaten eggs, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, but do not let it boil.

  3. Pour the mixture over the gelatin in a bowl.

  4. Add the brandy and vanilla. Stir until dissolved.

Set and chill

  1. Pour the mixture into one large mould or several small moulds.

  2. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until set.

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. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Brandy + vanillatop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,738 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,340 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).

Sugar and vanilla 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

Eggs
Thicken the custard as they set with gentle heat, giving it body and richness.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard, providing creaminess and moisture.
Leaf gelatine
Sets the liquid mixture into a firm, sliceable mould as it chills.
Castor sugar
Sweetens the custard and adds softness to its texture.

The step that matters

Stirring the eggs into the hot milk. If the mixture boils, the egg proteins scramble and the custard turns grainy. Stir constantly and keep it below boiling until it thickens.

“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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