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 ↓
Biscuits Glaces, in Small Cases
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a saucepan, combine egg yolks, cream, ratafia, sugar, and salt.
Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl.
Let the custard cool.
Freeze and serve
Once cooled, stir in maraschino and freeze the mixture.
Before serving, gently fold in whipped cream.
Spoon the mixture into small paper cases and sprinkle with finely-bruised ratafia.
Serve the biscuits on a napkin.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set on gentle heat and add richness.
- Cream
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture that stays creamy when frozen.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and lowers the freezing point, keeping the frozen texture softer.
- Ratafia
- Provides almond-like aroma and flavour through the custard and as a garnish.
- Whipped cream
- Adds air and lightness, softening the dense frozen custard.
The step that matters
Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Egg yolks set at gentle heat and can scramble if overheated. Stirring constantly and keeping the heat moderate keeps the custard smooth rather than curdled.
“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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