Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks.
Mix the beaten yolks with the butter and powdered sugar.
Add the whites
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture and combine thoroughly.
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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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped until stiff, they trap air that lightens the sauce's texture.
- Egg yolks
- Their fat and emulsifiers enrich the sauce and help bind it smooth.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves easily for a fine, smooth texture.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stiff whites hold air that makes the sauce light. Stirring or mixing vigorously deflates the foam, so fold gently and only until combined.
“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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