Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Baked Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the pulped apples, sugar, butter, bread crumbs, egg yolks, and lemon juice and peel until well combined.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form, then gently fold it into the apple mixture.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake and serve
Bake for 45 minutes, then turn out onto a serving dish.
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.
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,790 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pulped apples
- Provide the main body and moisture of the pudding.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks enrich and bind the mixture, while the whipped white lightens its texture.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and give the pudding body so it holds its shape.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, soft crumb.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning in the oven.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg white. Stiff peaks trap air that gives the pudding its light rise. Over-mixing or stirring vigorously deflates the foam, leaving a dense result.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, bread, egg, lemon):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raspberryfits about as well
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, bread, egg, lemon. 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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Apple Bread Pudding21 recipes
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Bread Pudding153 recipes