Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
In a saucepan, combine water and butter over medium heat until boiling.
Quickly add the flour and beat until smooth.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Beat in one egg at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a greased baking pan.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 40 minutes.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flour and butter 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
- Eggs
- Add structure and help the dough puff and set as it bakes.
- Pastry flour
- Forms the starch framework that holds the puffs their shape.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness and softens the dough for a tender texture.
- Water
- Turns to steam in the oven, lifting the dough and creating hollow centers.
The step that matters
Beating in the eggs one at a time. Adding eggs gradually and mixing thoroughly lets each one blend fully into the dough. Too much egg at once can make the batter runny, so the puffs may not rise or hold their shape.
“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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