Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Creamy Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Cream the butter in a bowl.
Slowly add the powdered sugar while mixing.
Beat in the wine until well combined.
Just before serving, add the cream and mix well.
Alternatively, combine the cream and wine, then cook over hot water until smooth and creamy, but do not melt the butter.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cream + winetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed butter gives the sauce its rich body and smooth, fat-based mouthfeel.
- Powdered sugar
- Fine sugar dissolves easily into the butter, adding sweetness and a smooth texture.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, loosening the sauce and softening its flavour.
- Wine
- Thins the mixture and adds acidity and aroma that balance the sweetness.
The step that matters
Cook gently over hot water without melting the butter. Butter is an emulsion of fat and water. If it gets too hot and melts fully, the fat separates from the liquid and the sauce turns greasy and grainy instead of smooth and creamy.
“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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