Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 43,450 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
For Beandy Oe Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Combine the egg yolks, sugar, cream or milk, and brandy or sherry in a small saucepan; whisk until well mixed.
Fill a larger saucepan halfway with hot water and place it on the stove.
Set the small saucepan in the hot water and whisk the sauce for 6 to 8 minutes, ensuring it does not boil to prevent curdling.
Remove the small saucepan from the hot water.
Serve
Pour the sauce over plum pudding or into a sauceboat.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,635 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and brandy share little aroma chemistry, yet 11,939 recipes mention both: they likely 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 yolks
- Thicken the sauce as they cook gently, giving it a smooth, custard-like body.
- Cream or milk
- Adds richness and moisture, softening the sauce and mellowing the egg flavor.
- Brandy or sherry
- Adds aroma and a bright, wine-like flavor that complements the pudding.
- Pulverized sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves easily into the liquid base.
The step that matters
Keep the sauce from boiling. Egg yolks scramble and curdle when overheated. Gentle heat in the hot water bath thickens the sauce slowly and keeps it 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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