Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cabinet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the mold
Grease a mold with butter.
Arrange sliced citron and raisins at the bottom in a decorative pattern.
Layer sponge cake strips over the fruits, followed by more citron, candied fruits, and raisins.
Repeat layers until the mold is nearly full.
Make the custard
Heat 1 pint of milk until it rises, then remove from heat.
In a bowl, mix 3 ounces of sugar with 3 egg yolks.
Gradually stir in the hot milk, mixing well.
Pour the milk mixture over the cake and fruits in the mold, ensuring it nearly covers everything.
Bake and serve
Place the mold in a pan of cold water, covering it about one-third.
Bring the water to a boil.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 1 hour.
Once baked, invert the mold onto a dish, remove the mold, and serve with pudding sauce.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Raisin + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks bind the custard and help it set firm when baked.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid custard that soaks the cake and sets into a soft texture.
- Sponge cake
- Absorbs the custard and gives the pudding its body and structure.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and adds to its tender texture.
- Raisins
- Add chewy sweetness and fruit flavor throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Setting the water bath. Baking the mold in water moderates the oven heat so the egg custard cooks gently. Too much heat makes the custard curdle or turn rubbery and pocked.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Coconutfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, sugar, egg. 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.
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