Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cream Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the choux pastry
Boil 1 1/2 cups water and 2/3 cup butter in a pot.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups sifted flour and let cool.
Add 5 eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Drop the mixture into buttered pans, shaping them like cream puffs.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 400°F (200°C). Do not open the oven door until they are done.
Once baked, cut or pull open each cake.
Make the filling
In a separate pot, heat 1 pint of milk.
Mix 1/2 cup sifted flour, 1 cup sugar, and 2 eggs together.
Stir this mixture into the boiling milk and let it thicken.
Once cool, add flavoring to the filling.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness as they set during baking, helping the puffs hold their shape.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the boiled dough, contributing tenderness and flavor.
- Sifted flour
- Provides the starch that gives the dough and thickened filling their body.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the filling, adding moisture and creaminess as it thickens.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps give it a smooth, rich texture.
The step that matters
Do not open the oven door until they are done. Opening the oven releases steam and cools the air, so the puffs can collapse before their structure sets.
“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 cream cakes recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe 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.