Why it works: Almond and biscuit match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 388 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
German Style
twelve personsIngredients
Directions
Make the almond pudding
Stir light five ounces of butter and one-half pound of sugar.
Then add the yolks of nine eggs, lemon peel, six ounces of pounded almonds or one-half pound of almond paste, one-half pound of biscuits soaked in milk and squeezed out dry, and the snow of the whites of eight eggs.
Bake in a buttered and sugar-dusted fancy mould.
Make the cake pudding
Mix, same as for wine cake, one pound of sugar, one-half pound of butter, one and one-half pounds of pastry flour, seven eggs, one-half pint of milk, one-half ounce of soda, one ounce of cream of tartar sifted in the flour, mace and citron.
Bake in well-buttered and sugar-dusted moulds.
Make the steamed pudding
Mix together one cup of stoned raisins, three and one-half cups of flour, one cup of chopped beef suet, cinnamon and mace.
To one cup of cream or milk add one cup of molasses, one teaspoonful of soda and two eggs.
Mix thoroughly, fill in a mould with tight-fitting cover, well buttered and dusted with crumbs or sugar.
Steam three hours.
Make the wine jelly and custard
Dissolve one ounce gelatine in one-half glass of sherry wine and as much water.
In the snow of the whites of ten eggs beat three-quarters of a pound of fine sugar and the gelatine.
One orange peeled, and the juice of the same, will increase the delicacy of flavor.
Set away in little moulds to harden.
If fruit flavors and coloring are used, a variety of names can be given.
Of one quart milk take enough with three ounces of flour to make a soft batter.
The balance of the milk, with five ounces of sugar, set on the fire.
When boiling, add one-half teaspoonful salt and two beaten eggs; stir continually about five to eight minutes, until thick like crème.
Serve with sweet cream, sweetened and seasoned with mace.
Make the brown bread pudding
Mix two pounds self-raising brown bread flour with one and one-half pints of cream or milk, one pint of molasses and enough water to make a soft dough, one cup of raisins, five ounces of finely chopped beef suet.
Bake in water-bath one and a half to two hours.
A little sugar may be added.
Before serving, pour hot brandy sauce over it to soften crust.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 15 of 17 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 15 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Biscuit | 1 medium (45g) | 166 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pastry | not in our table | 0 |
| Mace | 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.
-
Almond + biscuittop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together388 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Almond + raisintop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
-
Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whites trapped as snow give lightness, and yolks bind and enrich the batter.
- Butter
- Fat that creams with sugar to give a tender, rich crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps create a soft, tender texture when creamed.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the pudding together as it sets or steams.
- Beef suet
- Adds richness and moisture, keeping the steamed pudding tender.
- Molasses
- Adds dark sweetness and moisture, and deepens the colour of the pudding.
The step that matters
Steam three hours. Steaming needs steady, gentle heat and enough water in the pot; if the water boils dry or the lid is loose, the pudding dries out and turns heavy.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, almond, biscuit, milk, sugar, flour, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinthe original
- Coconutfits less well
- Figfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, almond, biscuit, milk, sugar, flour, cream. 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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