Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Cocoanut Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Grate one-half cup of coconut.
Separate the yolks of four eggs.
Combine the grated coconut, yolks, one-half cup sugar, and one-half tablespoon flour.
Add enough milk to fill your dish.
Beat all ingredients together.
Bake
Return the mixture to the oven and bake until browned.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nut | 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.
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Flour + cocoatop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together386 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + cocoatop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together956 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Egg yolks thicken the filling as they set, giving the pie a custard-like structure.
- Grated coconut
- Adds coconut flavor and a tender, slightly chewy texture to the filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the top brown during baking.
- Flour
- Helps thicken the filling so it holds together when baked.
The step that matters
Bake until browned, not longer. Egg-based fillings set through gentle heat. Overbaking pushes the eggs too far, making the custard grainy, watery, or curdled, so the pie should be removed once the top is browned and the filling is just set.
Swap the cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, egg):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Milletfits better
- Cocoathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, 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.
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