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Cornstarch Pudding

A sweet pudding made with cornstarch, eggs, milk, and sugar, baked in small molds.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Cornstarch Pudding

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 ↓

Cornstarch Pudding

Oven, in the book's wordsA cool oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a cool oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the custard

  1. In a bowl, rub the cornstarch smooth with ½ cup cold milk.

  2. Add the granulated sugar, egg yolks, and salt to the mixture.

  3. Scald the remaining milk and pour it into the bowl, stirring constantly.

  4. Return the mixture to the heat and cook for five minutes, stirring continuously.

  5. Add the butter and stir well.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into small molds and bake at 400°F (200°C) for fifteen minutes.

  2. Remove from the oven and spread with any preserved fruit you have.

  3. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add the powdered sugar and pile on top.

  4. Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for fifteen minutes.

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.

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.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  2. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together77,875 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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

Cornstarch
Thickens the milk mixture into a smooth, set pudding as it cooks.
Eggs
Egg yolks enrich and help set the custard; whites are beaten to stiff peaks for the topping.
Milk
Forms the liquid base that the cornstarch thickens into the pudding.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the finished pudding.
Granulated sugar
Sweetens the custard and softens its flavor.

The step that matters

Cooking the custard on the heat. Cornstarch only thickens fully when the mixture reaches a simmer and is kept stirring, so stopping early or stirring poorly leaves it thin or lumpy.

“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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