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Yellow Sauce for Puddings

A sweet yellow sauce made with sugar, butter, egg yolk, and sherry, cooked slowly over a double boiler.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,505 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Yellow Sauce for Puddings

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Beat the sugar, butter, and egg yolk together until creamy.

  2. Add the sherry and mix well.

Cook

  1. Place the mixture in a double boiler on the back of the stove.

  2. Cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally.

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.

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. Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,141 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 yolk
Thickens the sauce as it heats and adds richness and a smooth, custard-like body.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and silky mouthfeel.
Sugar
Sweetens the sauce and helps it beat to a creamy base.
Sherry
Adds acidity and aroma that balance the sweetness and richness.

The step that matters

Cooking gently in a double boiler. Egg yolk thickens through gentle heat, around 160°F, and can scramble if overheated. Indirect heat from a double boiler and frequent stirring keep the sauce smooth.

“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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