Why it works: Raisin and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,684 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Cabinet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Build the mold
Layer chopped citron, raisins, and sugared orange peel in the bottom of a well-buttered mold.
Cover with slices of cake, then alternate layers of fruit and cake until the mold is nearly full.
Arrange the fruit on the edges of the layers for an even look.
Make the custard
In a bowl, mix 1 pint of milk, 3 egg yolks, and 3 tablespoons of sugar to make a custard.
Pour the custard slowly into the mold to soak the cake.
Bake and serve
Set the mold in a pan of water and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 1 hour or until the custard is set.
Unmold the pudding and serve.
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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Raisin + orangetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,684 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Orange + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Set the custard, giving it a rich, smooth, tender texture when baked.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that soaks into the cake.
- Slices of cake
- Provide the bulk and body of the pudding, absorbing the custard as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the tartness of the citron and peel.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness between the cake layers.
The step that matters
Pour the custard slowly into the mold to soak the cake.. Pouring slowly lets the cake absorb the custard evenly instead of floating or leaving dry pockets. Egg proteins then set during gentle baking in a water bath, which keeps the custard tender rather than curdled.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, milk, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, milk, egg, sugar. 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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