Why it works: Coconut and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,093 recipes. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓
Cocoanut Cream Puffs
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 batter
In a pot, stir hot water and Racine together and bring to a boil.
Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool.
Once cool, beat in the whipped yolks of the eggs, then fold in the stiffened egg whites.
Bake
Line a baking pan with buttered paper and drop batter by large spoonfuls onto it.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 15 minutes until puffs are done.
When cool, cut off the tops of the puffs.
Fill and serve
For the filling, beat together whipped cream, grated coconut, powdered sugar, and almond extract until stiff.
Fill the puff shells with the mixture and replace the tops.
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.
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Coconut + almondtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,093 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Its gluten and starch form the paste structure that holds the puffs together as they bake.
- Eggs
- Whipped yolks enrich the batter, and stiffened whites trap air that helps the puffs rise.
- Whipped cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the filling, keeping it light and creamy.
- Grated coconut
- Adds coconut flavor and a tender, slightly chewy texture to the filling.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and dissolves smoothly into the cream for the filling.
The step that matters
Cool the paste before adding the eggs. If the paste is still very hot, the egg yolks can scramble and the batter loses its smooth texture. Cooling it first lets the eggs blend in evenly, and gently folding in the stiffened whites keeps the air they hold, which helps the puffs rise.
Swap the coconut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, butter, cream, sugar, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Coconutthe original
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, butter, cream, sugar, almond. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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