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 ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a fairly hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the choux
Boil the hot water and butter together.
Stir in the flour while boiling.
Set aside to cool, then stir in the eggs one at a time without beating.
Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheets and bake at 400°F (200°C).
Make the filling
For the filling, beat together 3 tablespoons flour, ½ cup sugar, and 1 egg.
Stir in 1 pint of boiling milk and flavor to your liking.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Starch that thickens the dough and sets the custard filling.
- Eggs
- Add structure and moisture, and help the puffs rise and set.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the dough.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the filling, adding richness and body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to the filling.
The step that matters
Stir in the eggs one at a time without beating. The dough must cool enough not to scramble the eggs, and adding them gently one at a time lets the batter become smooth and glossy. The batter needs the right consistency so the puffs rise and hold their shape in the oven.
“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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