Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Combine one cupful of hot water and two cupfuls of butter, put on stove, and bring to a boil.
When it boils, stir in one cupful of dry flour, removing all lumps.
When cool, stir in two eggs well beaten and soda as large as a pea.
Drop dough onto tins and bake 20 minutes; then look in; bake 10 minutes more.
Make the cream and fill
When cold, open the side and fill with cream.
For the cream, set one pint of milk in hot water until it boils.
Mix two tablespoonfuls of corn starch with a little milk.
Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and yolks of two eggs.
Beat all and put it in boiling.
Add butter the size of a nutmeg, two teaspoonfuls of lemon extract, and cool.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Water | 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.
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + nutmegtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together563 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the cooked paste that gives the puffs their hollow, sturdy structure.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness to the dough, and yolks help thicken the cream.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base of the cream and adds richness.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the cream as it heats, giving it a smooth, set texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to the cream.
The step that matters
Keep the cream stirring as it comes to a boil. Cornstarch only thickens once it reaches a boil, and stirring keeps it smooth and prevents lumps or scorching on the bottom of the pan.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, milk, corn, sugar, egg, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, milk, corn, sugar, egg, nutmeg. 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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