Why it works: Cream and butter 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 ↓
Cream Crust for Two Pies
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
In a bowl, combine sour cream, boiling water, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.
Sift in flour gradually until the mixture is not too stiff.
Let the dough stand and cool.
Bake
When ready to bake, place small pieces of butter on top of the crust.
Bake for 30 minutes in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + flourtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tang, giving the crust a tender texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar and sour cream to produce gas, helping the crust rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Provides acidity that works with the baking soda to lighten the dough.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the crust as it is added to the dough.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the top of the crust, promoting browning.
The step that matters
Sift in flour gradually until the mixture is not too stiff. Adding flour gradually lets you stop when the dough is workable. Too much flour makes the crust dense and tough, because gluten and starch build up structure that is hard to bake through evenly.
“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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