Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Puff Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a rather quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Separate the eggs and beat the yolks in a bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to each egg yolk, mixing in one spoonful at a time.
Stir in a few drops of lemon juice or lemon extract.
Fold in ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve immediately with plain cream or foamy sauce.
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.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Whipped whites trap air for lift, while the yolks add richness and structure to the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps the yolks hold their body while they are beaten.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven, helping the pudding rise and become puffed and light.
The step that matters
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. Egg whites hold air only while whipped. Heavy stirring knocks that air out, so folding gently keeps the batter light and lets the pudding puff in the oven.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Strawberryfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, cream. 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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