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 ↓
Maple Cream
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 242°F (117°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the syrup
In a large pot, combine the yellow sugar, glucose, and sweet cream.
Boil the mixture, stirring constantly, until it reaches 242°F (117°C) on a thermometer.
Remove from heat and let it cool nearly to room temperature in a cool place.
Set and shape
Stir the mixture until it begins to set.
Melt the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches a creamy consistency.
Pour the mixture into a well‑greased tin, about one inch deep.
Allow it to cool completely without disturbing it, then turn the tin over to release the cream.
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.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yellow sugar
- Provides the bulk of the sweetness and the structure that sets as the mixture cools.
- Glucose
- Inhibits sugar crystallization, keeping the cream smooth rather than grainy.
- Sweet cream
- Adds fat and moisture, giving the finished cream a soft, rich texture.
The step that matters
Stirring until it begins to set. Stirring during cooling encourages fine sugar crystals to form, producing a smooth cream. Stirring too early or too late changes the texture, and disturbing it after pouring can make it grainy.
“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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