Why it works: Cream and sugar 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 ↓
Prune Whip
Ingredients
Directions
Stew 14 large prunes without sugar, chop them, and mix with 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cream tartar, and the well-beaten whites of 4 eggs.
Put the mixture in a baking dish and set it in water inside the oven.
Bake and serve with plain or whipped cream, or a custard made from the yolks of the eggs.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Prune | 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Beaten whites trap air and give the whip its light, airy structure as they set.
- Prunes
- Provide the main fruit flavour and moisture, with body from the stewed, chopped fruit.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilise the beaten egg whites.
- Cream tartar
- Acidifies the egg whites, helping the foam hold its volume and stay stable.
The step that matters
Setting the dish in water in the oven. Baking the mixture in a water bath surrounds it with gentle, even heat. This slows the rise of the egg-white foam and helps it set evenly without overheating, cracking, or weeping.
“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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