Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Custard Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Beat the egg whites until frothy.
In a bowl, combine the cream, sugar, salt, and sour wine or flavoring.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a mold and place it in a kettle of cold water.
Steam slowly for about 20 minutes, ensuring the water does not boil.
Serve with a fruit sauce.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + winetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to foam, they give the pudding its light, airy structure as they set.
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat and richness, giving the pudding a smooth, moist texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and adds a little body to the custard.
- Sour wine or flavoring
- Supplies acidity and aroma that balance the sweetness of the cream and sugar.
The step that matters
Steam slowly with water that does not boil. Egg proteins set gently at moderate heat. Boiling water would make the pudding rise too fast and turn it coarse, spongy, or full of holes. Keeping the water just below a boil gives a smooth, 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.
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