Why it works: Pumpkin and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,744 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: bread
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Put the bread cubes in a large bowl, drizzle with the melted butter and toss until evenly coated.
Spread the buttered bread cubes in an even layer in a 2-quart baking dish or an 8-inch square pan.
In a bowl, whisk the pumpkin, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves until smooth.
Whisk in the heavy cream, whole milk, eggs and egg yolk until fully combined. If using, whisk in the bourbon.
Pour the custard evenly over the bread, pressing gently with a spatula so the cubes soak it up. Let stand 10 minutes.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes until puffed and set in the center. The custard must reach 160°F (71°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Pumpkin + cinnamontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + allspicetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,620 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together30,777 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon share little aroma chemistry, yet 30,777 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, milk, pumpkin, sugar, egg, cinnamon, ginger):
- Nutmegbetter flavor fit
- Cardamombetter flavor fit
- Cloveabout as good a flavor fit
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, milk, pumpkin, sugar, egg, cinnamon, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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