Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a warm oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the prunes
Boil the prunes until tender.
Remove the seeds from the prunes and chop them finely.
Make the pudding
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Add the chopped prunes to the egg whites and stir until smooth.
Sift the sugar twice.
Add a small pinch of cream of tartar to the sugar on the second sift.
Beat the sugar and cream of tartar into the prunes and eggs.
Grease a mold.
Set the mold in a pan of boiling water.
Pour the pudding mixture into the mold.
Bake and serve
Bake for 20 minutes in a warm oven at 350°F (175°C).
After 5 minutes, check the pudding.
If it is browning on top, cover it with paper for the remaining time.
Serve cold with a custard made from the yolks of 3 eggs.
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.
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Whites whipped to stiff foam give the pudding its light, airy structure as it sets.
- Prunes
- Provide moisture, body and the dark, sweet fruit flavour of the pudding.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the egg whites, helping them whip to a stable, stiff foam.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Whites under-whipped stay runny and deflate, while over-whipped whites turn dry and grainy. Stiff, glossy peaks give the pudding its lift, so the whites must be beaten fully before the prunes are folded in gently.
“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.
More prune pudding recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe 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.