Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Apple Charlotte
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Dry stale bread in the oven until brittle, then grind to make 1 pint of crumbs.
Pare, quarter, and core the apples, then cut each quarter into 4 pieces.
Make and bake the charlotte
In a bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, egg yolks, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Add the bread crumbs and apples to the mixture, then pour into a yellow baking dish.
Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 30 to 45 minutes.
Top and serve
Once cooled, beat the egg whites with powdered sugar.
Set the egg whites in a hot oven for 2 to 3 minutes or use a salamander.
Serve cold with 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.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Stale bread crumbs
- Form the body of the dish and absorb the custard as it bakes.
- Tart apples
- Provide fruit and a tart flavour that balances the sweetness of the custard.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set into a soft, creamy texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, keeping the crumbs and apples moist.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that give the custard a smooth, rounded flavour.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the top brown lightly in the oven.
The step that matters
Setting the egg whites. Egg whites turn rigid and can brown quickly under high heat, so a short, hot exposure is needed to set and colour the topping without overcooking it or drying the dish beneath.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, butter, sugar, egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, butter, sugar, egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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