Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Sauce for Batter Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with butter until well combined.
Gradually add the boiling cream to the yolk mixture, stirring constantly.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring until it thickens to a sauce consistency.
Remove from heat and stir in the brandy.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Brandy + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,635 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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 set gently with heat, giving it body and richness.
- Boiling cream
- Provides the liquid base and fat that make the sauce smooth and rich.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and a warm, sharp flavour that balances the sweetness of the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a glossy texture and rounder flavour.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat, stirring until it thickens. Egg yolks set at a relatively low temperature, so high heat or lack of stirring can scramble them into lumps. Gentle, constant stirring keeps the sauce smooth as it thickens.
“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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