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 ↓
Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Beat the egg until very light.
Add the powdered sugar and stir well.
Mix in the melted butter thoroughly.
Finish and serve
Gradually add the milk while stirring continuously.
Flavor with rum or sherry wine and serve.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + rumtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together967 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Butter + rumtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,007 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + rumtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,908 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Adds richness and body, and beating in air lightens the sauce's texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Provides sweetness and dissolves smoothly into the sauce for a fine texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, mellow mouthfeel.
- Milk
- Thins the mixture to a pourable sauce consistency.
The step that matters
Gradually add the milk while stirring continuously. Adding liquid slowly while stirring lets it blend evenly into the butter and sugar mixture. Dumping it in at once can cause lumps or a separated, greasy texture.
“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.
More pudding sauce recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.