Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Coburg Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition.
Mix in the remaining ingredients.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into well-buttered dairy molds or small cups.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes.
Serve with wine 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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Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Eggs
- Provide structure and richness, setting the batter as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness, and helps the batter cream into a light base.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the pudding together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the pudding rises and turns light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter into a pourable mixture.
- Castor sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps the butter cream to a light texture.
The step that matters
Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Adding eggs slowly lets each one emulsify fully into the creamed butter and sugar. Adding them too fast can curdle the mixture, which may weaken the rise and texture of the finished pudding.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, brandy, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, brandy, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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