Name: Creme Patissi&Re, or Pastry Cream
Ingredients: 1 ounce fine flour; 3 fresh egg yolks; ¾ pint boiling cream or a mixture of cream and new milk; 2 ounces pounded sugar; 1½ ounces fresh butter, cut small or clarified; 1 tablespoon store mixture or sugar rubbed on lemon rind; 1½ ounces ratifias, crushed to powder (optional)

Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Creme Patissi&Re, or Pastry Cream

Ingredients

1 ounce fine flour
3 fresh egg yolks
¾ pint boiling cream or a mixture of cream and new milk
2 ounces pounded sugar
1½ ounces fresh butter, cut small or clarified
1 tablespoon store mixture or sugar rubbed on lemon rind
1½ ounces ratifias, crushed to powder (optional)

Directions

Make the custard

Gradually add the beaten yolks of the eggs to the flour, stirring briskly.
Slowly incorporate the boiling cream or cream and milk mixture in small portions.
Transfer the mixture to a clean saucepan and stir over low heat until thick.
Remove from heat, stir well, then return to heat and let it simmer for 6 to 8 minutes.

Finish

Pour into a basin and immediately add the pounded sugar, butter, and store mixture or lemon sugar.
For an enhanced flavor, mix in the crushed ratifias.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 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

Egg yolks: Thicken the cream as they set with heat, giving a rich, smooth body.
Fine flour: Stabilises the custard so it thickens without curdling from the eggs.
Cream: Supplies fat and liquid, giving the custard a rich, soft texture.
Butter: Adds fat for a smoother mouthfeel and a glossy finish.
Pounded sugar: Sweetens the custard and adds body to its flavour.

The step that matters

Stir over low heat until thick. Egg yolks set when heated, so high heat or long cooking can curdle the custard into lumps. Gentle, constant stirring keeps it smooth.

“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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Creme Patissi&Re, or Pastry Cream