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 ↓
Caramel Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the caramel
To make the caramel, combine 2 cups sugar and ½ cup water in a frying pan.
Heat on a hot fire, stirring constantly until it turns dark brown and liquid.
Remove from heat and carefully add ½ cup boiling water.
Let the caramel cool and store in a jar for future use.
Make the custard
In a bowl, combine milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and caramel.
Cook the mixture in a double boiler, stirring carefully until thickened.
Serve
Serve the custard cold, topped with whipped 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.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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
- Set the custard as they thicken with gentle heat, adding richness and a smooth texture.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk mixture as it heats, giving the custard body.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, providing moisture and softness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the richness of the custard.
The step that matters
Cook the custard gently in a double boiler. Stirring carefully over indirect heat keeps the egg yolks from overheating and curdling while the cornstarch thickens the mixture 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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