Name: Baked Apple Pudding, or Custard
Ingredients: 1 pound good boiling apples, peeled and cored; 6 ounces sugar; 1-2 tablespoons wine; 3 ounces butter; Grated rind of 1 lemon; Juice of 1 lemon; 5 egg yolks, beaten; 2 teaspoons flour (or 3-4 crushed Naples biscuits or macaroons)

Why it works: Apple and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,207 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Baked Apple Pudding, or Custard

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the apple base

Stew the apples until they are a smooth marmalade, stirring often to prevent sticking.
While the apples are still hot, mix in the butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice.

Bake

Gradually stir in the beaten egg yolks and flour (or crushed biscuits/macaroons).
Bake the pudding in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or longer.

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.

Apple + winetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,207 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Wine + lemontop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,157 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Wine + buttertop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,645 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,551 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Butter and flour 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

Boiling apples: Cook down into a smooth marmalade that forms the body of the pudding.
Egg yolks: Enrich and bind the mixture, setting into a custard-like texture as it bakes.
Butter: Adds richness and fat, giving the pudding a tender, smooth texture.
Flour: Provides structure so the pudding holds together after baking.
Sugar: Sweetens the pudding and helps with browning on the surface.

The step that matters

Stirring the apples while they stew. Apples stick and scorch on the bottom of the pan if left unattended. Frequent stirring keeps them cooking evenly into a smooth purée, which gives the pudding an even texture.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, wine, butter, lemon, egg, flour):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, wine, butter, lemon, egg, flour. 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.

Apple Pudding256 recipes

Lemon Cake228 recipes

Lemon Ice147 recipes

Lemon Sherbet103 recipes

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Baked Apple Pudding, or Custard