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Dessert

Apple Tapioca

A dessert of apples cooked with tapioca, sugar, milk, cinnamon, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Sterrett, Laura C · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Apple and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓

Apple Tapioca

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak tapioca until soft.

  2. Pare and core apples.

  3. Put apples into a small pan.

  4. Add a little butter to each apple.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour tapioca over apples and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

  2. Bake until apples are done.

  3. Serve hot or cold with sweetened cream or milk.

  4. Use any kind of fruit the same way.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

883Calories
28 gProtein
20 gFat
148 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pienot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Sterrett, Laura C. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  2. Tea + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together245 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  3. Cinnamon + corntop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together647 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  4. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tapioca
Softened by soaking, it thickens the juices and gives the pudding its chewy texture.
Apples
They soften during baking and provide the main fruit flavor and moisture.
Butter (in the method)
Adds richness and fat, which helps carry flavor through the baked apples.

The step that matters

Bake until apples are done. Apples must be fully tender so they cook through evenly with the softened tapioca. Underbaked apples stay firm and hard, while the tapioca needs enough heat to become clear and tender.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, tea, cinnamon, egg, cream, corn):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Peachfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, tea, cinnamon, egg, cream, corn. 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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