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 gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the dough
Boil the water and butter together.
Slowly sift in the flour and stir until combined.
Cool the mixture until lukewarm, then stir in the eggs one at a time.
Shape and bake
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto buttered baking sheets.
Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes.
Fill and serve
Once cooled, fill the puffs with sweetened whipped 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 + 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).
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
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the puffs' shape as they bake.
- Eggs
- Add moisture and set in the oven, giving the puffs their structure and rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture.
- Hot water
- Turns to steam in the oven, helping the puffs rise and hollow out.
The step that matters
Cooling before adding the eggs. If the mixture is still too hot, the eggs can scramble. If it is too cold, they will not blend smoothly. A smooth, glossy dough holds its shape and puffs evenly in the oven.
“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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