Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Baked Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the apples
Boil the apples until soft and mash them.
Mix and bake
In a bowl, combine the apple pulp, sugar, butter, bread crumbs, brandy, and beaten eggs. Mix well until all ingredients are combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set and golden.
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.
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Apple + brandytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,291 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,790 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set into a firm, custard-like texture when baked.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a softer, more tender crumb.
- Apples
- Provide the main body and moisture of the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps it brown at the surface.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb excess moisture and help give the pudding structure.
The step that matters
Bake until set and golden. Eggs set as they heat, so underbaking leaves a loose, wet center, while overbaking can make the pudding dry and rubbery. Look for a firm center and golden top.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, bread, brandy, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Apricotfits about as well
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, bread, brandy, egg. 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.
More apple pudding recipes
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Apple Bread Pudding21 recipes
Bread Pudding153 recipes
Soft Ginger Bread85 recipes
Apple Cake80 recipes