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 ↓
Boston Cream Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cake
Combine one cup sugar, two cups flour, one-half cup butter, two teaspoons baking powder, and the last whites of three eggs beaten stiff; bake in sheet form or layer.
Make the custard
Mix three yolks, three-fourths cup sugar, and three level tablespoons flour.
Scald one pint milk, add hot, stir in, and cook.
Spread the custard over the pie.
Top with cream
Combine one-half pint whipped cream, two tablespoons sugar, and one spoon vanilla.
Put the whipped cream mixture on top.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
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.
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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
- Eggs
- Whites beaten stiff trap air, giving the cake structure and lift as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the cake crumb and gives it richness.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure and, in the custard, thickens it as it cooks.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and stays light.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, which sets as it thickens.
- Yolks
- Egg yolks enrich the custard and help it set smooth and thick.
The step that matters
Cook the custard after adding the hot milk. Stirring hot milk into the yolk mixture and then cooking it thickens the custard as starch gelatinizes and the yolks set. Cooking too little leaves it runny; too much can curdle the eggs.
“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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