Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the prunes
Stew the prunes and pour off the syrup.
Once the fruit is cold, chop it finely.
Make the pudding
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the sugar and chopped prunes.
Pour the mixture into a buttered dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C).
Cover the dish for the last 20 minutes of baking.
Serve
Serve with whipped cream.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Prunes
- Provide the main fruit flavour and sweetness, and moisture once stewed and chopped.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they give the pudding its light, airy structure as it bakes.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
- Rich cream
- Adds richness and fat, served whipped alongside the baked pudding.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to stiff peaks. Under-beaten whites collapse and leave the pudding dense, while over-beaten whites turn dry and grainy. Stiff, glossy peaks trap air that expands and sets in the oven, giving the pudding its lift.
“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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