Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Combine the butter and boiling water in a saucepan.
Boil the mixture for 3 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from heat and pour the boiling mixture into a bowl.
Sift in the flour and mix until smooth using an egg beater.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Bake
Grease muffin rings with butter and fill them with the mixture.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 35 minutes.
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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps give the dough a tender crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten that set the structure of the puffs.
- Eggs
- Add moisture and structure, and their steam helps the puffs rise and hold their hollow centre.
The step that matters
Beating in the eggs one at a time. Each egg must be fully incorporated before the next is added. Adding them too fast can leave the dough slack or lumpy, so it may not hold its shape or puff properly 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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