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 ↓
Plum Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Cream the butter and powdered sugar together.
Add the cider and the well-beaten yolks of the eggs, then mix well.
Stir in the milk or cream.
Cook and finish
Cook in a double boiler until thick like custard.
Gradually pour into the beaten egg whites, beating constantly.
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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, tender texture to the sauce.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the creamed butter.
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard as it cooks, and whites add lightness when beaten in.
- Cider
- Adds fruity acidity and flavor that balances the sweetness.
- Milk or cream
- Adds body and richness, giving the custard a smooth, creamy texture.
The step that matters
Cook in a double boiler until thick like custard. Gentle, indirect heat lets the egg yolks thicken slowly. Too much heat can scramble the eggs and leave a grainy, curdled sauce.
“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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