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Bread and Butter Pudding with Rhubarb Compôte

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Ginger and rhubarb work together. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 241 recipes mention both. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 2
Prep30 min
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Put the raisins or sultanas and the currants in a small bowl, cover with a splash of hot water and leave to soak for 15 minutes, then drain.

  2. Cut the rhubarb into 2 cm (¾ inch) pieces. Finely chop the 5g stem ginger and set aside. Grate the 15g ginger.

  3. Put the rhubarb, 50g soft brown sugar, grated ginger and the 25ml stem ginger syrup in a small saucepan. Simmer gently over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes until soft, then cool.

  4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Cut the brioche slices into triangles and layer them in a 2-person ovenproof dish, scattering the drained fruit and chopped stem ginger between the layers.

  5. Whisk the eggs, 50g caster sugar, double cream and semi-skimmed milk together in a jug. Pour the custard evenly over the brioche and let it soak for 15 minutes.

  6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the custard is just set and golden. The centre should reach 160°F (71°C) on a thermometer.

  7. Dust the pudding with icing sugar and serve warm with the rhubarb compote and a spoonful of crème fraîche.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Ginger + rhubarbtop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together241 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  2. Raisin + curranttop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together6,180 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

  3. Cream + sugartop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together43,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Raisin + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together1,242 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  5. Currant + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, currant, brioche, cream, milk, sugar, egg):

  1. Cinnamonbetter flavor fit
  2. Nutmegbetter flavor fit
  3. Maceabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, currant, brioche, cream, milk, sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).