Why it works: Butter and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,127 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Velvet Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Beat the butter until creamy.
Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat for 2 to 3 minutes.
When the water boils, stir in the cornstarch blended with a little cold water.
Stir and boil for 2 to 3 minutes until transparent.
Finish and serve
Just before serving, stir this mixture into the butter and sugar, and flavor with your choice of brandy, rum, maraschino, lemon juice, or vanilla extract.
Serve hot.
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 + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy body to the sauce.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the creamed butter.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the boiling water into a glossy, clear sauce that sets as it cools.
The step that matters
Boiling the cornstarch mixture. Cornstarch only thickens fully when it reaches a boil, and it must be stirred constantly so it does not clump or scorch. Boiling until the mixture turns transparent shows the starch has gelatinized, which gives the sauce its smooth texture.
“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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