Why it works: Egg and butter match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 118,511 recipes mention both. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the base
Boil 8 eggs until just hard, then cool and peel them.
In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour.
Add ½ cup of cream, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of sugar; beat until smooth.
Incorporate the yolks of 8 eggs into the mixture.
Beat the 8 egg whites until stiff and fold them into the cream mixture.
Assemble and bake
Butter a platter and spread half of the mixture on it.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, add the boiled eggs, and top with the remaining mixture.
Bake for another 10 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Egg + buttertop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together118,511 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cream + sugartop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together43,437 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + flourtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Egg + flourtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together104,138 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Eggs
- Whole boiled eggs provide the centerpiece, while beaten whites lighten the mixture and help it set.
- Egg yolks
- Yolks enrich the custard, adding richness and helping it set smoothly when baked.
- Egg whites
- Whites beaten until stiff trap air, lightening the mixture so it puffs and bakes airy.
- Butter
- Butter adds richness and flavor, and with flour forms the base that thickens the mixture.
- Flour
- Flour, cooked with butter, thickens the cream mixture so it holds its shape when baked.
- Cream
- Cream adds moisture and richness, giving the custard a soft, tender texture.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stiff whites hold air that gives lift; overmixing or deflating them while folding into the cream makes the dish dense and flat.
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.