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 ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the choux paste
Heat the butter and boiling water in a saucepan.
When boiling, add the flour and stir until smooth.
Cool the mixture, then beat in the well-beaten eggs thoroughly.
Drop tablespoonfuls onto warm greased baking sheets, leaving space between each.
Brush the tops with egg white and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Make the custard
To make custard, dissolve cornstarch in a little cold water, then add to boiling milk.
Boil for 3 minutes while stirring continuously.
Beat the mixture into the well-beaten eggs, sweeten to taste, and return to heat for a few moments without boiling.
Flavor with vanilla and use as directed.
Fill and serve
When cool, open the sides and fill with custard.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Butter
- Melts into the boiling water to add richness and tenderness to the dough.
- Flour
- Its starch sets with the steam and egg to form the puffs' structure.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and, with steam, make it puff and set; also thicken the custard.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the custard as it boils.
- Milk
- Forms the body of the custard and adds richness.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs into the dough. The dough must be cool enough that the eggs do not scramble, yet the eggs must be fully incorporated so the dough is smooth and can rise and hold its shape in the oven.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, egg, milk, sugar):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, egg, milk, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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