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Dessert

Vienna Chocolate

A chocolate dessert made by combining heated milk, cream, chocolate, sugar, cornstarch, and egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 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 ↓

Vienna Chocolate

Ingredients

Directions

Make the chocolate base

  1. In a double boiler, scald the milk and cream.

  2. In a bowl, mix the chocolate, sugar, and cornstarch.

  3. Blend the chocolate mixture with some hot milk, then pour it into the double boiler.

  4. Stir until smooth, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

Finish and serve

  1. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

  2. Remove the chocolate from heat, pour some over the egg whites, and stir to combine.

  3. Mix everything together and serve.

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. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  4. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

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

  5. Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

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

Vanilla and sugar 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

Egg whites
Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air and give the chocolate a light, airy texture.
Cornstarch
Thickens the chocolate mixture as it heats, giving it body.
Grated vanilla chocolate
Provides the main chocolate flavor and richness.
Cream
Adds fat for a richer, smoother mouthfeel.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the chocolate.

The step that matters

Folding the chocolate into the egg whites. Pouring the chocolate over whipped egg whites and stirring too vigorously deflates the foam. Stir gently so the air bubbles that give the dessert its lightness survive.

“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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