Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Charlotte Russe Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Heat the milk in a saucepan until it is near boiling.
Stir in the egg yolks and cornstarch, and let it thicken slightly.
Sweeten and flavor the mixture to taste.
Assemble and bake
Layer the sponge cake slices in a pudding dish and pour the custard over them.
Bake until set.
Top and brown
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually add the sugar.
Spread the icing over the pudding and brown slightly.
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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, providing most of its body and creaminess.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set, giving it a smooth, sliceable structure.
- Cornstarch
- Stabilizes the custard by thickening it so it holds its shape without curdling.
- Sponge cake slices
- Absorb the custard and form the soft, layered base of the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped with sugar to form a stiff meringue that gives a light, browned topping.
The step that matters
Thickening the custard. Egg yolks and cornstarch must be heated gently, just until slightly thickened. Overheating can curdle the eggs and leave the custard grainy, so it will not set smoothly in the oven.
“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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