Why it works: Chocolate and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Chocolate Ceeam
Ingredients
Directions
Make the chocolate base
Dissolve the chocolate in hot water.
Add 1 cup of milk.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Make the egg mixture
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.
Mix the beaten eggs with 2 cups of milk.
Combine and finish
Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg and milk mixture, stirring well.
Boil all together for a few minutes.
Sweeten to taste.
Serve cold.
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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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Egg proteins set on heating, thickening the cream and giving it body.
- Milk
- Provides liquid and richness, forming the creamy body of the dish.
- Chocolate
- Supplies the chocolate flavour and fat that give the cream its richness.
The step that matters
Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg and milk mixture, stirring well. Adding hot liquid to egg too quickly or without stirring can scramble the eggs. Stirring while pouring distributes heat evenly so the eggs thicken smoothly.
“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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