Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Strawberry Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat together two tablespoonfuls of butter, 1/2 cup of sugar, and one egg until creamy; then add 1 cup of milk, and one scant cup of flour sifted twice with two scant teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
Bake
Bake in small muffin tins for about twenty minutes.
Fill and serve
When done, remove the centers, fill with crushed, sweetened strawberries, and put whole berries on top.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve with rich sweet cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 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 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender crumb through fat.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps the surface brown while baking.
- Egg
- Adds structure and binds the batter as it sets.
- Milk
- Provides moisture and loosens the batter.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the pudding's shape.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven so the batter rises and lightens.
The step that matters
Adding the flour to the batter. Mixing flour in only until combined keeps gluten development low, so the puddings stay tender rather than tough. Sifting the flour with the baking powder spreads the leavening evenly for an even rise.
“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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