Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Chocolate Pudding
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 chocolate base
Break the chocolate into small pieces.
Put the chocolate with the milk in a saucepan.
Simmer until dissolved, then cool.
Make the thickened base
Melt the butter in another saucepan.
Stir in the flour and cook a little without browning.
Add the milk and stir until boiling.
Add the cake crumbs.
Cook gently until the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the saucepan clear.
Let it cool slightly.
Beat in the egg yolks.
Add the vanilla essence.
Fold, steam and bake
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Gently fold the egg whites into the mixture.
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered mold.
Cover with buttered paper.
Steam for 1.5 hours.
Bake for 1 hour at 350°F (175°C).
Serve with custard, chocolate, or vanilla sauce.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Eggs
- Egg yolks enrich the base, and whipped whites lighten and set the pudding's structure.
- Chocolate
- Provides the main flavour and rich, dense body of the pudding.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender, smooth mouthfeel to the base.
- Flour
- Thickens the base with starch, giving the pudding its structure once cooked.
- Cake crumbs
- Add body and a soft, absorbent texture to the mixture.
- Milk
- Provides moisture and dissolves the chocolate into a smooth liquid base.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whisked whites trap air that gives lift. Folding gently preserves that air, while stirring or deflating them makes the pudding dense.
“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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