Why it works: Vanilla and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Caramel Soufflé
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the base
Cook cornstarch and water together until thickened.
Beat the yolk and white of the egg until light.
Add the cooked mixture to the yolk a spoonful at a time.
Bake and serve
Fold in the beaten egg white.
Pour into buttered timbale molds.
Flavor with vanilla, caramel, and salt.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C).
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and mark with a hot poker before serving.
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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Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + vanillatop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together27,347 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Egg
- Egg white is beaten and folded in to lighten the mixture and set into an airy, rising structure.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the water into a cooked base that gives the soufflé body and holds its shape.
- Caramel
- Adds a toasted, sweet flavor to the custard base.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg white. Folding gently keeps the whipped egg white's air intact. Overmixing deflates the foam, so the soufflé rises less and turns dense.
“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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