Why it works: Chocolate and coffee are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,497 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells buttery, creamy. The science ↓
Chocolate Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the chocolate in just enough water.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until creamy.
Gradually add the boiling milk to the egg mixture, stirring constantly.
Add the melted chocolate and mix well.
Do not allow the mixture to boil.
If desired, add strong coffee or vanilla for flavoring.
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 + coffeetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Milk + coffeetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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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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Sugar + coffeetop 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the mixture as they heat, giving the cream a rich, smooth body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cream and helps whisk the yolks into a smooth, creamy base.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the yolks thicken into a cream.
- Chocolate
- Provides the main flavor and richness of the cream.
The step that matters
Do not allow the mixture to boil. Egg yolks thicken gently as they warm, but boiling can overheat them, causing curdling or a grainy texture instead of a smooth cream.
“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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