Why it works: Chocolate and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Chocolate Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Melt the chocolate in a small amount of water.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until creamy.
Gradually add the heated milk to the egg mixture, stirring constantly.
Cook and finish
Pour the mixture into the boiling milk.
Add the melted chocolate.
Do not allow the mixture to boil again.
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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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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 yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set gently with heat, giving it a smooth, rich body.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base, adding moisture and creaminess to the custard.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the richness of the chocolate and yolks.
- Chocolate
- Provides the main flavour and adds richness from its cocoa fat.
The step that matters
Do not allow the mixture to boil again. Egg yolks thicken gently at moderate heat but curdle and turn grainy when boiled. Keeping the custard below a boil lets it thicken smoothly.
“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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