Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Almond Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pound the almonds finely in a mortar with tapioca, adding a little cream or milk to prevent oiling.
In a basin, combine sponge cakes and milk, then add brandy.
Whisk the eggs until frothy.
Beat the sponge cakes smooth.
Mix and bake
Mix all ingredients lightly together, adding curd, butter, and sugar to taste.
Transfer the mixture to a dish, garnish with sliced almonds, and bake in a warm oven.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Brandy + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet almonds
- Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the pudding.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set as it bakes.
- Sponge cakes
- Soak up the milk and brandy to give the pudding a soft, tender body.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, loosening the mixture and softening the sponge.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a softer, smoother texture.
- Tapioca
- Thickens the mixture slightly as it cooks, adding body.
The step that matters
Pound the almonds finely with a little cream or milk. Almonds release oil when ground, which can make the pudding greasy. Adding a little liquid helps keep the paste smooth and the oil dispersed.
“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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