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 ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the choux dough
Melt the butter in hot water over medium heat.
While boiling, beat in the flour until combined.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Stir in the eggs one at a time without beating.
Bake and make the filling
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a baking sheet.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
For the filling, beat the eggs and sugar together.
Stir in the milk and flavoring, then bring to a boil.
Mix in the flour combined with a little milk until thick.
Cool the filling and use it to fill the puffs, opening them slightly.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Butter
- Melts into the hot water to add richness and tenderness to the dough.
- All-purpose flour
- Starches gelatinize with the eggs to give the dough structure and set the puffs.
- Eggs
- Add structure and leavening through steam, letting the puffs rise and hold their hollow shape.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness to the filling and helps it thicken with the flour.
The step that matters
Stir in the eggs one at a time without beating. The dough must be smooth and thick enough to hold its shape, but over-mixing or adding eggs too quickly can make it too loose. Adding eggs gradually lets the dough absorb them evenly, which allows the puffs to rise and form a hollow centre as steam expands inside them.
“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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