Why it works: Flour and butter 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. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the dough
Melt the butter in the boiling water.
When the mixture boils, pour in the flour and stir until it forms a ball around the spoon.
Remove from heat and beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing each one thoroughly before adding the next.
Bake and fill
Drop spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, spacing them about 1½ inches apart.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
Make an opening in the side of each puff and fill with your choice of Cream Pie or Chocolate Cream Pie filling.
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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Flour + buttertop 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).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Provides the starch that sets the dough so the puffs hold their shape while baking.
- Eggs
- Add moisture and structure, and their steam helps the puffs rise and go hollow.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and melting it into the water gives the dough its tenderness.
The step that matters
Beating in the eggs one at a time. Each egg must be fully absorbed before the next is added, or the dough can separate and become too loose to hold its shape or rise well.
“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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