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 ↓
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 dough
In a saucepan, bring the water and butter to a boil.
Once boiling, add the flour and stir quickly until it forms a ball that leaves the pan.
Remove from heat and let cool.
When cool, add one egg at a time, beating continuously.
After adding the last egg, beat vigorously for 5 minutes.
Let the mixture stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Bake the puffs
Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto buttered baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning.
When cool, make an opening in the side of each puff.
Make the filling and fill
For the filling, boil the milk in a double boiler.
In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until light, then add the corn starch.
Stir the egg mixture into the boiling milk and cook until thick.
Remove from heat, add vanilla, and let cool before filling the puffs.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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
- Flour
- Provides the starch structure that holds the choux dough and lets the puffs rise hollow.
- Eggs
- Add structure and moisture to the dough and set the custard, giving richness.
- Butter
- Adds fat that gives the dough a tender texture and rich flavor.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base of the filling, adding richness and a creamy body.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the filling as it cooks, giving it a smooth, sliceable body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and balances the flavor of the eggs and milk.
The step that matters
Stirring the egg mixture into the boiling milk. Eggs can scramble if they meet very hot milk too quickly, so the mixture should be stirred steadily as it goes in. Cornstarch only thickens fully once it reaches a boil, so the custard must cook until it is thick.
“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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