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 ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the choux batter
Put 1 cup of water in a saucepan and heat it.
Melt in ½ cup of butter when the water is hot.
Once it boils, add 1 cup of sifted flour and stir until smooth.
Remove from heat and let it cool.
When cool, stir in 3 eggs one at a time without beating them first.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto baking sheets.
Bake for 1 hour at 400°F (200°C).
Make the cream
For the cream, bring 1½ cups of milk to a boil.
In a bowl, beat 2 egg yolks with 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar until light.
Pour the boiling milk over the egg mixture while stirring continuously.
Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a little cold milk and add it to the custard.
Return to heat and stir until thick.
Let it cool and flavor with vanilla extract.
Fill and serve
To fill the puffs, lift the tops with a knife and spoon in the cream.
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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the puffs up as they bake.
- Eggs
- Add structure and lift, helping the puffs rise and set as they bake.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness to the choux dough.
- Milk
- Gives the cream its liquid base and body.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the cream custard and add richness.
- Cornstarch (in the method)
- Thickens the cream so it holds its shape when filled.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs to the cooled dough. Eggs must be stirred in one at a time, and the dough should be cool, so the eggs blend into a smooth, glossy batter. Adding eggs to hot dough can scramble them, and an underbeaten batter may not 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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