Why it works: Cream and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,466 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Prune Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Make one pint stewed prune pulp.
Dissolve one package Chocolate Jell-O in one pint boiling water.
Make the souffle and serve
When it begins to thicken, add the prune pulp and one teaspoonful cinnamon, and beat one cup whipped cream into it.
Pile into custard cups and serve with whipped cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Prune | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,466 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cinnamon + chocolatetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,808 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Cinnamon + creamtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,510 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Stewed prune pulp
- Adds body, moisture and natural sweetness to the mixture.
- Whipped cream
- Adds air and lightness, giving the souffle a soft, airy texture.
- Chocolate jell-o
- Gelatin sets as it cools, giving the souffle structure and holding the air.
The step that matters
Adding the whipped cream while the Jell-O is only beginning to thicken. Gelatin sets as it cools. If it is still too liquid, the cream deflates and the mixture stays runny. If it has already set firm, the cream will not blend in evenly. Beating it in at the first sign of thickening lets the gel trap the air.
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, chocolate):
- Peppermintfits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Cinnamonthe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, chocolate. 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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