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 ↓
Cabinet 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 the mold
Grease a mold with butter.
Decorate the bottom with candied fruits.
Layer and add custard
Arrange slices of sponge cake or lady fingers in the mold, dipping them lightly in sherry if desired.
Layer the cake and fruit alternately.
In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, and sugar.
Pour the custard mixture over the layered cake and fruit.
Bake and serve
Place the mold in a pan of water and bake at 350°F (175°C) for one hour.
Serve with a wine sauce.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Sherry + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Proteins set as the custard heats, giving the pudding its firm, sliceable structure.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, supplying moisture that the eggs bind together.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and softens the set custard's flavor.
- Sponge cake or lady fingers
- Soaks up the custard and holds the layers together as the pudding sets.
The step that matters
Bake in a water bath. Setting the mold in a pan of water keeps the oven heat gentle around the custard. Egg proteins set smoothly at moderate temperatures, while too much heat makes them curdle and leaves a grainy, watery texture.
“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.
More cabinet pudding recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.