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 ↓
Burnt Caramel Pie
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 custard
Cream the butter and 2 cups of sugar together with the well-beaten egg yolks.
Mix the flour with ½ cup of milk to form a paste, then add the remaining milk to the mixture.
Cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly until very thick.
In an iron skillet or heavy aluminum pan, melt the remaining sugar until it turns a very dark brown.
Stir the melted sugar into the thick mixture and add the vanilla.
Bake and finish
Pour the mixture into a pre-baked hot pie crust.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Make a meringue by beating the egg whites and adding 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Spread the meringue over the pies and brown them.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 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
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard and enrich it, while whites form the meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, when melted to a dark brown, adds a deep caramel flavour.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk mixture so the custard sets firm enough to slice.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that is cooked until thick.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, tender texture to the custard.
The step that matters
Melting the sugar to a very dark brown. Sugar darkens quickly past its melting point and can turn bitter or burnt if left too long. Taking it just to deep brown gives caramel flavour, and stirring it into the hot custard needs care because it is very hot.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk, flour, butter):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk, flour, butter. 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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