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Cream Meringue Pudding

A custard-like pudding topped with a stiff meringue layer.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Cream Meringue Pudding

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the custard

  1. In a bowl, cream together the sugar, egg white, and egg yolks.

  2. Add the milk and mix thoroughly.

  3. In another bowl, combine the flour and salt, then pour in half of the milk mixture and beat until smooth.

  4. Gradually add the remaining milk mixture and stir until well combined.

  5. Transfer to a double boiler over boiling water and stir until thickened, about 15 minutes.

  6. Add vanilla extract and strain into a well-buttered pudding dish.

Top and bake

  1. Beat the remaining egg whites until stiff, then gradually add the powdered sugar.

  2. Spread the meringue over the pudding.

  3. Bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) for 20 minutes.

  4. Serve cold.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
Thicken the custard and enrich its texture as they set with gentle heat.
Flour
Thickens the milk mixture so the custard holds its body when cooked.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard, giving it creaminess and body.
Egg whites
Whipped into a stiff foam that forms the meringue topping and browns in the oven.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and helps the meringue whip to a stable, glossy foam.

The step that matters

Stirring the custard over the double boiler until thickened. Flour-thickened custard needs steady, gentle heat and constant stirring; if it overheats or sits still it can scorch or turn lumpy, and it must be thick enough to hold the meringue.

Swap the vanilla

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk, flour, butter):

  1. Vanillathe original
  2. Raisinfits about as well
  3. Figfits less well
  4. Coconutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk, flour, butter. 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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