Why it works: Raisin and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Cabinet 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.
Prepare the custard
Layer sliced cake in a mold, adding chopped citron, candied fruit, and raisins between layers until full.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar until well combined.
Heat the milk in a saucepan until just boiling, then gradually stir it into the beaten egg mixture.
Pour the custard over the layered ingredients in the mold.
Bake and serve
Place the mold in a pan with cold water, filling it to about a third of the mold's height.
Bring the water to a boil, then transfer the pan and mold to a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) and bake for about 1 hour.
Once cooked, turn the pudding out onto a hot dish and serve with sweet 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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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,147 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Raisin + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Cake
- Forms the bulk of the pudding and soaks up custard to set into a soft, sliceable body.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the milk custard as they set, giving the pudding its firm yet tender texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, providing moisture that bakes into a creamy set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the richness of the egg yolks and milk.
- Candied fruit
- Adds concentrated sweetness and chewy texture between the cake layers.
The step that matters
Water bath around the mold. Gentle, indirect heat from the water bath keeps the egg custard from overheating, which would make it grainy or curdled. Keep the water level about a third up the mold.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, milk, sauce):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, milk, sauce. 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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