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 ↓
Velvet Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
Heat the wine in a saucepan and dissolve the gelatine in it.
Add the sugar and stir until fully dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Set the cream
Once cool, stir the mixture into the cream.
Pour into molds and refrigerate until set.
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.
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sherry + creamtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,038 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
-
Sherry + sugartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the cream into a firm, sliceable body as it chills.
- Cream
- Provides rich fat and a smooth, creamy texture in the set dessert.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the flavour of the wine.
- Madeira or sherry wine
- Adds aroma and a mild acidity that flavours the set cream.
The step that matters
Dissolving the gelatine fully before adding the cream. Gelatine must be completely dissolved in warm liquid before mixing, or undissolved granules will leave gritty specks and uneven setting. Letting the mixture cool before stirring it into the cream keeps the gelatine from seizing into lumps and keeps the cream from thinning or curdling.
“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.
More velvet cream recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.