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 ↓
Chocolate 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.
Make the pudding
Beat 4 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs very lightly with the sugar.
Scald the milk and pour it hot over the bread crumbs and chocolate.
Add the egg mixture, vanilla, and more sugar if desired.
Pour into a buttered pudding dish and bake for 1 hour at 350°F (175°C).
Finish and serve
When cold, pour over the 4 beaten egg whites mixed with 4 tablespoons powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
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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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Eggs
- Bind the custard and help it set as it bakes.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that becomes the custard base.
- Bread crumbs
- Soak up the hot milk and give the pudding body.
- Chocolate
- Adds rich flavor and color to the custard.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the chocolate.
The step that matters
Bake the pudding in the dish. Eggs set through gentle heat as their proteins coagulate. Too much heat or too long in the oven can make the custard grainy, curdled, or watery.
“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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