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 ↓
Souffle a LA Vanille
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.
Prepare the crust
Prepare a crust by lining a raised pie mold with pastry dough, fill with bread crumbs, and bake at 350°F (175°C) until light brown, about 1 hour.
Remove bread crumbs without taking the crust out of the mold, then tie a band of buttered paper around the top and set aside.
Make the custard
In a saucepan, combine butter and flour without melting the butter.
In another saucepan, bring milk to a boil with the vanilla sticks, then cover and let cool slightly.
Remove the vanilla and pour the milk into the butter and flour mixture, stirring over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Quickly stir in the egg yolks and sugar until well combined.
Once cooled, whip the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the mixture.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hour.
If it browns too quickly, open the oven door to slow down the cooking.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 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).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Egg yolks and whipped whites provide structure and lift as the soufflé sets.
- Butter
- Enriches the base and adds richness and flavor to the custard.
- All-purpose flour
- Thickens the milk mixture with starch, giving the base body to hold the foam.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, adding moisture and softness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps stabilize the egg foam.
The step that matters
Fold in the egg whites gently. Whipped whites hold the air that makes the soufflé rise. Stirring them in vigorously knocks out air and leaves a dense result, so fold with a light, sweeping motion.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, egg, sugar):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, egg, sugar. 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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