Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Custard Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Mix the corn starch with a little cold milk and stir it into the milk.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together, then stir them into the milk mixture.
Beat the egg whites with 2 teaspoons of sugar until stiff, then fold them into the mixture.
Add the salt and vanilla extract or cinnamon.
Line and bake
Butter a deep pie plate and line it with puff pastry.
Pour the custard into the lined pie plate and bake until light brown.
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.
-
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and gives it its body and richness.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk so the custard sets into a smooth, sliceable filling.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set firm as it bakes.
- Egg whites
- Whipped and folded in, they trap air that lightens the custard's texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and adds softness to the set filling.
- Puff pastry
- Forms a flaky crust that holds the custard in the pie plate.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. The whites hold air that gives the custard its lightness. Stirring or overmixing deflates the foam, leaving a denser, heavier filling after baking.
“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.
More custard pie recipes
You might also like
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
Corn Cake90 recipes
Corn Starch Cake89 recipes
Corn Cakes22 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.