Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cream Puffs
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 dough
Boil the water and butter together.
When boiling hard, add the flour all at once and stir vigorously until it forms a smooth ball and leaves the sides of the saucepan.
Add the salt and sugar.
When cool, add the unbeaten eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly mixed.
Bake and serve
Drop pieces the size of a walnut onto a buttered pan, spacing them three inches apart.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes, starting with a hot oven and then reducing the heat.
Let them dry out in the oven with the door open for about 10 minutes to prevent them from falling.
When thoroughly cold, cut open with scissors and fill with whipped cream or mock cream.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the dough stay tender after baking.
- All-purpose flour
- Cooked with the hot liquid to form a paste that sets the puffs' structure.
- Eggs
- Provide moisture and structure, and their steam helps the puffs rise and hollow out.
The step that matters
Let them dry out in the oven with the door open. Once baked, the shells are steam-filled and can collapse if they cool too quickly. Drying them with the door open firms the walls so they hold their hollow shape.
“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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