Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Melt one-half cupful butter with one cupful cold water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add one cupful flour and simmer for a short time until thickened.
When the dough is partly cool, add three eggs one at a time, without beating.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking pan and bake in a very hot oven until thoroughly cooked.
Make the filling
While the pastries are baking, beat two eggs lightly, then add one teaspoon cream tartar, one cup sugar, one teaspoon soda, and two small tablespoonfuls flour.
Stir in two cupfuls milk until smooth.
Fill and serve
Once the pastries are cooled, fill them with the cream mixture.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Add structure and richness to the dough, and help set the filling as it cooks.
- Flour
- Thickens the dough and gives the puffs their structure, and thickens the cream filling.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture in the dough.
- Milk
- Provides moisture and liquid for a smooth, creamy filling.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to the filling.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs to the partly cooled dough. If the dough is too hot, the eggs can scramble; if it is too cool, the eggs will not blend in well and the dough will not puff properly in the oven. Adding them one at a time, without beating, keeps the dough smooth and firm enough to hold its shape.
“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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