Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Strawberry Charlotte
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Heat milk, egg yolks, and sugar until thickened to make a boiled custard; flavor to taste.
Assemble the charlotte
Line a glass dish with sponge cake slices dipped in sweet cream.
Layer sweetened strawberries on top, then more cake slices and strawberries.
When the custard is cold, pour it over the layers.
Top and decorate
Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, adding 1 tablespoon of sugar per egg, and spread over the top.
Decorate with the largest reserved strawberries.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set with heat, giving it body and richness.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that sets around the cake and fruit.
- Sponge cake slices
- Provide the soft structure that holds the layers together in the dish.
- Ripe strawberries
- Add fruity sweetness and acidity, and moisture to the layers.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a stiff foam that forms a light, airy topping.
The step that matters
Thickening the boiled custard. Egg yolks thicken when heated gently, but overheating can curdle them. The custard should be cooked just until it coats a spoon, then cooled fully before pouring over the layers.
“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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