Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Puff Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream the softened butter until smooth.
Add the beaten eggs, salt, and cream; mix well.
Stir in enough flour to create a very thick batter.
Cook and serve
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into boiling water.
Cook until the puffs rise to the surface.
Serve hot with melted butter poured over them.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Cream + flourtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness to the batter as it is creamed until smooth.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and give the puffs structure as they set in the water.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds each puff together after cooking.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the batter.
The step that matters
Cook until the puffs rise to the surface. The batter must be thick enough to hold its shape when dropped into boiling water. If it is too thin, the puffs can spread or break apart. Letting them cook until they float helps the centers set fully.
“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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