Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 41,516 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Scotch Woodcock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the toast
Cut the toast into 2‑inch squares and butter them well.
Spread the toast with anchovy paste.
Make the topping and serve
In a bowl, season the egg yolks with cayenne and salt, then beat slightly.
Add the egg yolks to the hot cream, stirring over low heat until thickened.
Pour the mixture over the prepared toast and serve hot.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + anchovytop 12% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Anchovy + buttertop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Cream + anchovytop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together798 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Anchovy + peppertop 17% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together3,232 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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 into a custard as their proteins set when gently heated.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, giving the egg yolks a smooth, spreadable base.
- Anchovy paste
- Provides the salty, savory flavor that defines the toast.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor and helps the toast brown and resist soaking.
The step that matters
Stirring the egg yolks into the cream over low heat. Egg yolk proteins set when heated, so heat that is too high or unstirred can curdle the mixture into lumps. Low heat with constant stirring thickens it smoothly.
“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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