Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Custard Tartlets
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a gentle oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the tartlets
Line patty pans with the pastry crust.
Prepare the custard and fill the pans three-quarters full.
Bake the tartlets in a 300°F (150°C) oven until set, about 15 minutes.
Let the tartlets cool.
Ice and finish
Mix the egg whites with the pounded sugar to make icing.
Spread the icing over the tartlets and sprinkle a little more sugar on top.
Return to the oven and bake until the icing is crisp, about 5-6 minutes.
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.
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs whites
- Whipped into the icing, they set into a crisp, glossy topping when baked.
- Pounded loaf sugar
- Sweetens the icing and helps it crisp and brown in the oven.
- Custard
- Sets in the oven to form the soft, creamy filling of the tartlets.
The step that matters
Baking the custard until just set. Custard is egg-thickened, so overbaking can make it curdle or turn grainy and watery. Baking only until the centre barely wobbles lets it finish setting as it cools.
“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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