Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Another Baked Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the filling
In a bowl, mix the grated apples, sugar, butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined.
Stir in the cream and eggs until smooth.
Bake
Line a baking dish with puff pastry and pour the apple mixture into it.
Bake for 1 hour or until set and golden.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the custard and bind the filling into a firm, sliceable texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender texture to the filling.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, giving the filling a smooth, soft texture.
- Apples
- Provide the main body and moisture of the pudding, softening as they bake.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the top brown as it bakes.
The step that matters
Bake until set and golden. Eggs and cream set as they heat, so underbaking leaves a runny centre, while overbaking can make the custard grainy and dry. Check that the centre is firm and the top is golden before removing it.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, lemon, cream, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Orangefits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, lemon, cream, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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