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 ↓
Coffee Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatine
Soak the gelatine in a little cold water for 30 minutes.
Make the coffee mixture
Place the soaked gelatine over boiling water and add the strong coffee and sugar.
Stir until the gelatine is fully dissolved, then remove from heat.
Stir in the cold cream and strain the mixture into a mold.
Before pouring, dip the mold in cold water.
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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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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 structure as it cools.
- Cream
- Adds fat and richness, giving the set dessert a smooth, soft texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dessert and balances the bitterness of the coffee.
- Strong coffee
- Provides the main flavour and aroma of the dessert.
The step that matters
Dissolving the gelatine fully. Gelatine must dissolve completely over gentle heat, not boil. Undissolved or overheated gelatine leaves grainy patches or weakens its setting power, so the cream will not set evenly.
“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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