Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Neapolitan Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cut a thick slice from the round sponge cake.
Beat the egg white until stiff, adding 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Pile the meringue in little heaps around the sponge cake.
Bake and soak
Bake the cake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until the meringue is crisp and light brown, then remove the cake from the oven.
Pour the sherry over the cake, avoiding the meringue.
Fill and serve
Whip the cream.
Mix the whipped cream with the crumbs of 2 sponge cakes and 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam.
Pile the mixture in the middle of the cake.
Scatter chopped glace cherries on top.
Serve cold.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sherry + strawberry jamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sherry + creamtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,038 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sponge cake
- Forms the base that absorbs the sherry and holds the filling.
- Egg white
- Whipped into a meringue that sets into a crisp, airy topping when baked.
- Sherry
- Adds moisture and a warm, aromatic flavour as it soaks into the sponge.
- Cream
- Whipped to add richness, moisture and a light, creamy texture to the filling.
- Strawberry jam
- Adds sweetness, fruity flavour and moisture to the crumb and cream mixture.
- Castor sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and helps it hold its stiff structure while baking.
The step that matters
Baking the meringue until crisp and light brown. Underbaked meringue stays soft and can weep, while overbaking makes it dry, brittle and bitter. The sugar browns as the meringue dries and sets, so watch the colour and texture rather than only the clock.
Swap the strawberry jam
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, sherry, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Strawberry jamthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, sherry, cream. 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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