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Dessert

Smotheeed Fig Pudding

A custard pudding flavored with vanilla and layered with figs, topped with whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Vanilla and fig match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 324 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Smotheeed Fig Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a double boiler, combine the milk, sugar, beaten eggs, and butter.

  2. Dissolve the cornstarch in a little cold milk and add it to the mixture.

  3. Cook while stirring constantly until thickened.

  4. Flavor with vanilla extract.

Assemble and serve

  1. In a serving dish, layer finely cut figs and custard until full.

  2. Set aside to cool.

  3. Top with whipped cream before serving.

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. Vanilla + figtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together324 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla 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
Thicken the custard as they set and add richness to the pudding.
Cornstarch
Thickens the milk mixture so the custard sets smooth and holds its layers.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard and sets with the eggs and starch.
Figs
Add fruit flavour and sweetness, layered through the custard.
Butter
Adds richness and a soft, smooth mouthfeel to the custard.

The step that matters

Cook while stirring constantly until thickened. Eggs and cornstarch can scorch or curdle if left unattended on heat. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly so the custard thickens smoothly rather than lumping.

Swap the fig

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg, butter, vanilla, cream):

  1. Strawberryfits about as well
  2. Coconutfits about as well
  3. Figthe original
  4. Peachfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, egg, butter, vanilla, cream. 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.

More fig pudding recipes

Steamed 14Sauce 7English 3 See all 340 →

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