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 ↓
Cabinet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the mold
Grease a mold with butter and decorate it with candied fruits.
Arrange slices of sponge cake or ladyfingers in the mold, dipping them lightly in sherry if desired.
Layer the cake and fruit alternately in the mold.
Make the custard
In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, and sugar.
Pour the custard over the layered cake and fruit.
Bake and serve
Place the mold in a pan of water and bake at 350°F (175°C) for one hour.
Serve with a wine 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Sherry + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as it bakes, giving it a set, creamy texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and adds moisture to the cake layers.
- Sponge cake or ladyfingers
- Forms the structure of the pudding and soaks up the custard.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the richness of the eggs and milk.
The step that matters
Baking in a water bath. Placing the mold in a pan of water moderates the oven heat around the custard. This gentle heat helps the egg yolks set smoothly without curdling or becoming grainy.
“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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