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Dessert

Vanilla Cream

A custard made with milk, cream, eggs, gelatin, sugar, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Vanilla Cream

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 ↓

Vanilla Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a bowl, beat the yolks of three eggs and one white with a wooden spoon.

  2. Stir in 2 cups of milk.

  3. Pour this mixture into a jug.

  4. In a saucepan, bring half full of hot water to a boil.

  5. Once boiling, move the saucepan to the side of the heat.

  6. Place the jug of custard in the boiling water and stir until it thickens.

  7. When thickened, remove the jug from the water and let it cool.

Add the gelatin

  1. Soak 1 ounce of gelatin in ½ cup of cold water in a small saucepan.

  2. Heat the saucepan and stir until the gelatin is melted.

  3. Strain the melted gelatin and stir it into the custard.

Whip the cream and finish

  1. In a bowl, whisk 2 cups of double cream until stiff.

  2. Add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the 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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

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

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

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

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

Egg yolks
Thicken the custard as they set during gentle heating, giving it richness.
Gelatin
Sets the custard so it holds its shape once cooled.
Double cream
Whipped to stiff peaks, it adds body and a light, creamy texture.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard that the yolks thicken.

The step that matters

Thickening the custard over hot water. Egg yolk proteins thicken when heated gently, but overheating can make them curdle or scramble. Keeping the water below a hard boil and stirring steadily gives a smooth custard.

“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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