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Dessert

Ice Cream Pudding

A chilled dessert made by thickening cornstarch in boiling water, then adding beaten egg whites, and topping with a sweet milk and butter dressing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By United Methodist Church (Grayville, Ill.) · 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 ↓

Ice Cream Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the pudding

  1. In a saucepan, combine three heaping tablespoons cornstarch, a small pinch of salt, and one tablespoon sugar; stir until smooth with as little cold water as possible.

  2. Add one and one-half pints boiling water and stir until the mixture is thoroughly cooked.

  3. Stir in the well-beaten whites of three eggs and pour into cups or molds to set.

Make the dressing

  1. To make the dressing, heat one cup sweet milk until boiling; add one cup sugar, half a cup butter, yolks of three eggs, and one tablespoon vanilla.

  2. Stir the dressing over the fire for one minute only.

Serve

  1. When the white part is cold, remove the pudding from the mold and pour the dressing over it.

  2. Serve cold.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

845Calories
27 gProtein
26 gFat
121 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By United Methodist Church (Grayville, Ill.). 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. 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.

  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. Vanilla + buttertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

Cornstarch
Thickens the boiling water into a firm, sliceable pudding as it cooks.
Eggs
Egg whites set the pudding, and egg yolks enrich and thicken the dressing.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth, rounded flavor to the dressing.
Sweet milk
Forms the base of the dressing, giving it body and creaminess.
Sugar
Sweetens the pudding and the dressing.

The step that matters

Stir the dressing over the fire for one minute only. Egg yolks in the dressing can curdle or turn grainy if overheated, so a brief stir over heat keeps it smooth while it thickens slightly.

“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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