Why it works: Brandy and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,635 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-heptanol, which smells bitter, floral. The science ↓
Christmas Tourte a LA Chatelaine
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Prepare the pastry case as for a previous recipe.
Fill the case generously with minced meat.
Cover securely with pastry or thick paper.
Bake
Bake gently at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes or longer until the currants and raisins are tender.
Fill and serve
Remove the inside of the tourte and fill it with hot minced meat.
Pour a little fresh brandy over the minced meat.
Ignite a strip of writing paper and touch it to the tourte before serving.
Serve the tourte while flaming, or hot without brandy, with Devonshire cream.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Brandy + creamtop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,635 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
-
Meat + creamtop 24% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,248 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Meat + brandytop 26% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together328 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
- Mince-meat
- Provides the sweet, moist fruit filling that softens during baking.
- Pastry for the case
- Forms a sealed shell that holds the filling and keeps it moist.
- Fresh brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour, and is ignited to create the flaming effect.
- Devonshire cream
- Adds richness and a cool, creamy contrast to the hot filling.
The step that matters
Bake gently at 300°F (150°C). Low, gentle heat lets the currants and raisins soften fully through without the pastry over-browning or drying. Covering the tourte securely keeps the filling moist while it cooks.
“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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