Why it works: Cheese and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,253 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Pastry Ramakins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Gather the puff pastry pieces and roll them out evenly.
Sprinkle the pastry with grated cheese.
Fold the pastry in thirds, roll it out again, and sprinkle more cheese on top.
Fold the pastry again, roll it out, and cut it into desired shapes.
If desired, brush the ramakins with egg yolk before baking.
Bake and serve
Bake the ramakins in a brisk oven at 400°F (200°C) for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve quickly on a hot napkin.
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.
-
Cheese + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,253 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
- Puff pastry
- Its layers of fat and dough puff with steam in the oven, giving the ramakins a flaky texture.
- Grated cheese
- Melts and browns during baking, adding savoury flavour and a crisp, golden surface.
- Egg yolk
- Brushed on before baking, it promotes browning and a glossy finish.
The step that matters
Bake in a brisk oven. A hot oven creates steam quickly between the pastry layers, so they rise and become flaky. A cool oven lets the butter melt out before the layers set, leaving the ramakins dense and greasy.
“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.
You might also like
Cheese Balls97 recipes
Cheese Cake55 recipes
Cream Cheese46 recipes
Lemon Pie37 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.