Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Raspberry Tart
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Roll out the puff pastry and lay it in a patty pan.
Add raspberries and sprinkle with fine sugar.
Cover with a lid and bake.
Add the custard and finish
Cut it open and add cream, beaten egg yolks, and a little sugar.
Bake again until set.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Puff pastry
- Forms a crisp, flaky case that holds the filling.
- Raspberries
- Provide tartness and fruit flavour that contrasts with the sweet custard.
- Egg yolks
- Set the cream into a custard that holds its shape when cut.
- Cream
- Adds richness and moisture, giving the custard a smooth texture.
The step that matters
Bake again until set. The custard needs enough heat to thicken fully, since egg yolks set as they warm. Underbaking leaves it runny, while overbaking can make it curdle or turn grainy.
“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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