Why it works: Sugar and biscuit are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,874 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
A Good Sponge Cake Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice the three penny sponge biscuits into a well-buttered tart dish, and place on them a couple of ounces of candied orange or lemon rind cut into strips.
Make the custard and soak
Whisk thoroughly six eggs, and stir into them boiling a pint and a quarter of a pint of milk in which three ounces of sugar have been dissolved; grate in the rind of a small lemon, and when it is somewhat cooled, add half a wineglassful of brandy while still just warm, pour the mixture onto the cakes, and let it remain for an hour.
Bake
Strain an ounce and a half of clarified butter over the top, or strew pounded sugar rather thickly on it, and bake the pudding for three quarters of an hour or longer in a gentle oven.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Biscuit | 1 medium (45g) | 166 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Brandy | 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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Sugar + biscuittop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,874 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Brandy + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
-
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Brandy + biscuittop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together244 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Set the custard and bind the pudding into a soft, sliceable body.
- Sponge biscuits
- Soak up the custard to form a tender, cake-like base.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown in the oven.
- Clarified butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and helps the top brown evenly.
The step that matters
Bake in a gentle oven. Eggs set into a smooth custard at moderate heat; too much heat makes them curdle and turn grainy, and over-baking dries the pudding.
“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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