Why it works: Coffee and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,497 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells buttery, creamy. The science ↓
Burnt Coffee
Ingredients
Directions
Make the coffee
Brew strong and clear coffee.
Sweeten the coffee in the cup with white sugar until almost syrupy.
Gently pour brandy on top of the coffee using a spoon.
Ignite the brandy with a lighted paper.
Once the flame diminishes, blow it out and drink the coffee hot.
Prepare the chocolate
For the chocolate, rasp it and boil with 4 tablespoons of water for 5 to 10 minutes.
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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Coffee + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Brandy + chocolatetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together287 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Strong brewed coffee
- Provides the bitter base flavour that the sugar and brandy sit on.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the coffee and thickens it toward a syrupy consistency.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour when ignited on top of the coffee.
- Chocolate
- Adds richness and body when rasped and boiled with water.
The step that matters
Ignite the brandy with a lighted paper. Brandy must be poured gently on top so it floats rather than mixing in. Alcohol vapour ignites readily, so the flame can be large and fast, and the cook should keep hands and face clear.
“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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