Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
A Delicious Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Beat the yolks of two large eggs until thick.
Add the beaten white of one egg and two tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Place in a double boiler and cook, stirring until thick.
Pour into an earthen bowl and beat until cold.
Finish the sauce
Mix in one cup of whipped cream.
If using with puddings, add one teaspoon of vanilla.
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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + vanillatop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together27,347 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce as they cook gently, giving it a smooth, custard-like body.
- Egg white
- Adds lightness and helps the sauce hold a soft, airy texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the eggs.
- Whipped cream
- Adds richness and a light, fluffy texture to the cooled sauce.
The step that matters
Cooking the yolks in the double boiler. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat. If the water is too hot or the mixture is left unstirred, the yolks can scramble and turn grainy, so stir steadily and keep the heat moderate.
“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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