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Dessert

Chocolate Pudding

A chocolate cake made with melted chocolate, butter, milk, sugar, flour, vanilla, baking powder, eggs, and folded egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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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 ↓

Chocolate Pudding

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.

Prepare the batter

  1. Dissolve the chocolate in 5 tablespoons of boiling water.

  2. Beat the butter until creamy.

  3. Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat.

  4. Add the egg yolks and beat again.

  5. Mix in the milk, melted chocolate, and flour.

  6. Beat the mixture vigorously.

  7. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks in a separate bowl.

  8. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture.

  9. Add the vanilla and baking powder, mixing quickly and lightly.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.

  2. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes.

  3. Serve with melted chocolate poured around the cake and whipped cream piled in the center.

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. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla 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

Eggs
Whipped whites give the cake lift and an airy, light crumb, while yolks add richness.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavor as it is beaten with sugar.
Sugar
Beaten with the butter, it helps create a creamy base and adds sweetness and tenderness.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Chocolate
Supplies the main chocolate flavor and deep color throughout the batter.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking, helping the cake rise.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Stiff whites hold air that gives the cake its lift. Folding gently keeps that air in, while vigorous stirring at this stage would deflate the batter and leave a denser cake.

“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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