Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Creamy Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Cream the butter in a bowl.
Slowly add the powdered sugar while mixing.
Stir in the wine and cream until well combined.
Place the bowl over hot water and stir until creamy, but do not melt the butter.
If the sauce appears curdled, continue to beat and heat until the ingredients blend.
Serve
Serve the sauce cold.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Wine + creamtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and body, and creaming it gives the sauce a smooth base.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the fat for a fine texture.
- Wine
- Adds acidity and flavor that balances the sweetness and fat.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and softness, making the sauce looser and creamier.
The step that matters
Heat gently over hot water without melting the butter. Butter is an emulsion of fat and water. Overheating it can separate the fat, causing curdling. Gentle, steady heat with constant stirring lets the ingredients blend into a smooth, creamy sauce.
“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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