Name: The Following Blank Should Be Used
Ingredients: two quarts when done; eight pounds light brown sugar; one cup of chopped suet; two cups of flour; one teaspoonful of salt; a cupful of powdered sugar; a cupful of flour; a teaspoonful of salt; a teaspoonful of soda in warm water; a teaspoonful of soda in a little warm water; a cupful of sour cream; a pinch of salt; a cupful of sugar --; a spoonful of whipped cream; 77 dough; three eggs; three big tender apples; four sour apples very fine; one beaten tgg; quarter tart apples; salt

Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

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.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + appletop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together16,478 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,481 recipes

Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).

Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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: Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the oven.
Molasses (in the method): Adds sweetness, moisture and a deeper flavour and colour.
Cornmeal (in the method): Gives the puffs a coarser, sturdier texture.
Flour: Provides structure so the puffs hold their shape when baked.
Baking soda: Reacts with the apples' acidity to produce gas that lifts the batter.
Sour apples: Add moisture and tartness, and their acid activates the soda.

The step that matters

Mixing in the dissolved soda. The soda must be fully dissolved and evenly distributed so it reacts with the acid in the apples and lifts the batter evenly. Enough water keeps the batter thin, which lets the puffs rise and bake through rather than staying dense.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, cream, egg):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, cream, egg. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

The Following Blank Should Be Used