Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Pudding Sauces
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter until creamy.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until light and frothy.
Add the wine, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition.
Place the bowl in a pan of boiling water.
Slowly add the hot milk while continuously beating.
Remove the bowl from the hot water; the sauce is ready to use.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Wine + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Wine + milktop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,116 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (fenugreek, curry).
Sugar and milk 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
- Butter
- Provides richness and a creamy base that the sugar beats into.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly for a light texture.
- Wine
- Adds flavour and aroma and thins the sauce.
- Hot milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the mixture into a smooth sauce.
The step that matters
Slowly add the hot milk while beating. Adding hot liquid gradually while beating keeps the butter emulsified and smooth. Pouring it in quickly can cause the mixture to separate or become lumpy.
“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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