Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cottage Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg yolks and milk, mixing well.
Sift the baking powder with the flour and add to the mixture.
Fold in the beaten egg whites until well combined.
Pour the batter into a greased round tin.
Bake and serve
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 45 minutes.
Test with a toothpick; if it comes out dry, the pudding is done.
Turn out onto a piece of cut paper.
Serve with wine or brandy sauce.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 trapped by folding add lift and an airy, light structure as the batter sets.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets as the batter bakes into a crumb.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter to add sweetness and help create a tender texture.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to add fat, richness and a tender crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the heated batter, helping the pudding rise.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to the batter and helps it bake through.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air only while they stay whipped. Overmixing deflates them and the pudding loses its lift, so fold gently until just combined.
“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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