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 ↓
Light or German Puddings or Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Melt the butter in the cream and let it cool nearly to room temperature.
Mix in the flour, sugar, egg yolks, egg whites, and rose or orange-flower water.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into buttered cups.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for half an hour.
Serve immediately after baking.
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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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
- Adds richness and a tender, rich texture to the baked pudding.
- Cream
- Provides moisture and a rich, custard-like body.
- Fine flour
- Gives structure as its starch sets during baking.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown lightly in the oven.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the batter and help it set into a soft custard.
- Egg whites
- Add lift and help the pudding hold its shape as it bakes.
The step that matters
Cool the butter and cream before mixing in the eggs. If the melted butter and cream are still very hot, they can scramble the egg yolks and whites, leaving lumps instead of a smooth, even batter that sets evenly.
“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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