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Chocolate Blanc Mange

A gelatin-based chocolate dessert served with custard.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 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 ↓

Chocolate Blanc Mange

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak the gelatine in 1 cup of water for 1 hour.

  2. Rub the grated chocolate smooth in a little milk.

Make the mousse base

  1. Boil 2 cups of milk, then add the soaked gelatine, chocolate mixture, and 1 cup of sugar.

  2. Boil all together for 8 to 10 minutes.

  3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Finish and set

  1. Beat in the whipped egg whites and vanilla until combined.

  2. Pour into molds and refrigerate until set.

  3. Serve cold with custard made from the yolks, sugar, and 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.

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. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

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

  4. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

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

  5. Chocolate + creamtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

Gelatine
Sets the liquid mixture into a firm, sliceable mousse when chilled.
Egg whites
Whipped, they trap air to give the mousse a light, airy texture.
Grated chocolate
Provides the chocolate flavour and contributes richness to the mousse.
Milk
Forms the liquid base that the gelatine and chocolate are dissolved into.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the bitterness of the chocolate.

The step that matters

Beat in the whipped egg whites. Egg whites must be whipped to stiff foam and folded in gently after the mixture has cooled slightly. If the mixture is too hot, the foam deflates and the mousse loses its airy texture.

“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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