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Sauce

R. Brandy Sauce

A sweet sauce made with butter, powdered sugar, egg white, brandy, and boiling water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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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 ↓

R. Brandy Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with a fork until smooth and soft.

  2. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, beating constantly until fully combined.

  3. Add the egg white and beat the mixture for one minute.

  4. Place the bowl in a basin of warm water.

  5. Gradually add the brandy and boiling water, then beat the sauce for two more minutes.

  6. Pour the sauce into a sauce bowl.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,127 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,340 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).

  5. Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked 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
Provides richness and a smooth, creamy body to the sauce.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the butter for a fine texture.
Egg white
Adds body and lightness as it is beaten into the sauce.
Brandy
Adds aroma and warm, distinctive flavor to the sauce.

The step that matters

Adding the brandy and boiling water. Adding liquid too quickly to the butter and sugar can cause the mixture to separate or look curdled. Adding it gradually while beating keeps the sauce emulsified and smooth.

“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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