Name: Cocoa-nut Pudding
Ingredients: 1 cocoa-nut, grated very fine; ½ cup cocoa-nut milk; 2 cups rich, sweet cream; sugar (equal weight to cocoa-nut); 5 or 6 eggs, well beaten; a little grated lemon peel

Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Cocoa-nut Pudding

Ingredients

1 cocoa-nut, grated very fine
½ cup cocoa-nut milk
2 cups rich, sweet cream
sugar (equal weight to cocoa-nut)
5 or 6 eggs, well beaten
a little grated lemon peel

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

Grate the cocoa‑nut very fine.
Combine cocoa‑nut milk, cream, sugar, beaten eggs, and grated lemon peel in a bowl.
Line a baking dish with thin cream or potato paste.

Bake

Pour the mixture into the lined dish.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour, covering with paper if necessary when partly baked.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cocoa + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together643 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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: Set the custard and give it structure as they cook.
Cocoa-nut: Supplies the main flavour and body of the pudding.
Cream: Adds richness and a smooth, tender texture.
Sugar: Sweetens the custard and helps it brown lightly.

The step that matters

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour, covering with paper if necessary when partly baked.. Eggs set into a custard at moderate heat; high heat or long baking can curdle and toughen them. Covering the surface with paper when it has partly baked stops it browning too fast while the centre finishes setting.