Skip to main content
Dessert

Semolina-pudding, ‘à l’Impératrice’

A sweet semolina pudding flavored with vanilla and caramel, enriched with egg yolks, whipped whites, and preserved fruits.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Semolina-pudding, ‘à l’Impératrice’

Ingredients

Directions

Make the semolina base

  1. Combine milk, vanilla sugar, salt, and butter in a saucepan.

  2. Heat until bubbling.

  3. Gradually add semolina, stirring until smooth.

  4. Cook for 10-12 minutes.

  5. Add sugar to taste.

  6. Remove from heat and mix in butter and egg yolks until well combined.

Shape and poach

  1. Thirty minutes before serving, fold in preserved fruits, whipped egg whites, and whipped cream.

  2. Pour mixture into a buttered cylinder mold.

  3. Place mold in a pan with boiling water halfway up the sides.

  4. Poach the pudding for 45 minutes.

Serve

  1. Once done, turn it out onto a dish.

  2. Drizzle with caramel syrup and serve with extra syrup on the side.

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,842 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Semolina
Forms the thick body of the pudding as its starch sets during cooking.
Egg yolks
Enrich the base and help it set into a tender, custard-like texture.
Egg whites
Whipped into foam, they lighten the pudding and add airy structure.
Whipped cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the pudding soft and creamy.
Milk
Hydrates the semolina and provides the liquid base for a smooth texture.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Gradually add semolina, stirring until smooth. Adding semolina slowly while stirring prevents lumps, because starch granules clump when dumped into hot liquid. A smooth base is needed for an even, tender 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.

More semolina pudding recipes

French 8Baked 3Steamed 3 See all 112 →

You might also like

Vanilla Ice CreamVanilla Ice Cream108 recipesOranges in SyrupOranges in Syrup9 recipesSyrup SauceSyrup Sauce6 recipesWhite CakeWhite Cake431 recipes