Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Prune 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the eggs and mix well.
Stir in the milk and vanilla flavoring.
In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Fold in the prunes and nuts.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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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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Nuts + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together638 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Flour
- Provides the starch structure that sets the crumb of the pudding as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help set the structure as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavor.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the pudding rises and becomes light.
- Light brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and promotes gentle browning.
- Stewed prunes
- Add moisture, sweetness and a deep fruity flavor throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour in portions and mixing only until combined keeps the batter smooth and limits gluten development, which keeps the pudding tender rather than tough.
Swap the nuts
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, butter, flour, milk, vanilla):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Hazelnutfits better
- Nutsthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, butter, flour, milk, vanilla. 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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