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Dessert

Charlotte Russe

A chilled custard dessert with ladyfingers, gelatin, sherry, and whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 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 ↓

Charlotte Russe

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it is smoking.

  2. Add the beaten egg yolks and sugar, stirring continuously until it thickens into a custard.

  3. Combine the dissolved gelatin with hot water and set aside.

  4. Add half of the gelatin mixture and vanilla to the custard.

  5. Let the custard cool, stirring occasionally.

Assemble the dessert

  1. Whip the cream.

  2. Gradually fold in the beaten egg whites.

  3. Mix in the remaining gelatin.

  4. Fold in the cooled custard.

  5. Add the sherry.

  6. Line a bowl with ladyfingers.

  7. Pour the mixture into it.

  8. Refrigerate overnight.

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

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Vanilla + sherrytop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together506 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

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

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

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 milk into a custard and add richness and flavour.
Egg whites
Whipped and folded in to lighten the filling and give it an airy texture.
Gelatin
Sets the filling so it holds its shape when chilled.
Double cream
Whipped to add body, fat and a light, smooth texture.
Lady fingers
Form the structure around the filling, soaking up moisture as it sets.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Whipped egg whites hold air, and overmixing or deflating them makes the filling dense instead of light. Fold gently so the foam stays intact.

“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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