Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dish
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Butter a baking dish thickly.
Layer and bake
Layer the sliced apples in the dish, alternating with stale cake crumbs and melted butter. Use 2 tablespoons of melted butter for every pint of apples.
Finish with a thick layer of cake crumbs on top.
Bake until the apples are tender.
Make the custard and finish
In a bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar.
Add the cream and mix well.
Pour the mixture over the pudding.
Return to the oven until the pudding is a rich golden color.
Serve with cream.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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
- Apples
- Provide the bulk and tender fruit base that softens during baking.
- Eggs
- Set the custard poured over the pudding, giving it a firm, sliceable texture.
- Stale cake crumbs
- Add structure and absorb the butter and juices so the layers hold together.
- Cream
- Enriches the custard, adding moisture and a smooth, tender texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the tart apples and helps the top brown to a golden color.
The step that matters
Return to the oven until golden. Baking until the custard is just set matters: too little heat leaves it runny, while too much makes the eggs curdle and turn rubbery. Watch for a rich golden top as the sign it is done.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, sugar, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, sugar, cream. 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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