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 ↓
A Nice Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, beat together the butter, thick cream, powdered sugar, and egg yolks until well combined.
Just before serving, gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Add flavoring to taste.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the sauce.
- Thick cream
- Adds body and richness, helping the sauce feel smooth and full.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves easily for a smooth texture.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help emulsify the butter and cream into a smooth sauce.
- Egg whites
- Hold air when beaten, making the finished sauce light and airy.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Beaten egg whites trap air that gives the sauce its lightness. Folding gently keeps that air in, while vigorous stirring would deflate the foam and make the sauce 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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