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Coffee Pudding

A steamed pudding made with breadcrumbs, sugar, milk, eggs, and coffee essence.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Coffee Pudding

Why it works: Milk and coffee are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,202 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓

Coffee Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs and sugar.

  2. In another bowl, beat the eggs, then add milk, coffee essence, and any optional flavoring.

Make and steam

  1. Mix the egg mixture with the breadcrumbs and sugar until well combined.

  2. Pour the mixture into a well-greased mold or basin.

  3. Steam for 1 hour or until the top is firm.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Milk + coffeetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,202 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

  2. Sugar + coffeetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,344 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together77,875 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 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

Breadcrumbs
Provide the bulk and body that hold the pudding together.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set firm when steamed.
Milk
Adds moisture and softens the breadcrumbs into a custard-like texture.
Sugar
Sweetens the pudding and adds to its soft, moist texture.
Coffee essence
Gives the pudding its coffee flavor.

The step that matters

Steam until the top is firm. Eggs set as they heat, so steaming too briefly leaves the pudding wet and loose, while over-steaming can make it dense and rubbery. Checking that the top is firm confirms the eggs have set.

“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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