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Dessert

Diplomatic Pudding

A chilled custard pudding set in wine jelly, decorated with candied fruit and sponge cake soaked in maraschino.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Diplomatic Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a bowl, mix the yolk of egg, sugar, gelatine, cream, brandy, and vanilla until smooth.

Prepare the mold

  1. Coat a plain mold with wine jelly by turning it in ice.

  2. Decorate the mold with candied fruit.

Set and serve

  1. Pour the custard mixture into the mold and solidify it on ice.

  2. Once set, turn it out onto a folded napkin.

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

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

  2. Brandy + winetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,427 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Brandy + vanillatop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together806 recipes

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

  5. Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,301 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

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 yolk
Adds richness and helps emulsify and thicken the custard.
Gelatine
Sets the cream mixture so it holds its shape when turned out.
Cream
Provides fat for a rich, smooth texture.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the brandy.
Wine jelly
Forms a glossy, set coating on the outside of the mold.

The step that matters

Pour the custard mixture into the mold and solidify it on ice.. Gelatine sets only when chilled below its setting point, so the mixture must stay cold and undisturbed while firming. Pouring it in before it is properly chilled can blur the layers or leave it soft and unable to hold its shape when turned out.

“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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