Why it works: Vanilla and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,961 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Chocolate Pudding
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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
Beat egg yolks and sugar until light and thick.
Add vanilla, grated chocolate, chopped almonds, beaten egg whites, bread crumbs, and baking powder; mix well.
Bake and serve
Butter a pudding form and pour the mixture into it.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until set.
Alternatively, pour the mixture into a well-buttered pudding mold dusted with bread crumbs and boil for about 1.5 hours.
Serve with meringue sauce.
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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Vanilla + almondtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Chocolate + almondtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the batter and add richness and a tender, custard-like set when baked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to add lift and an airy, light structure to the pudding.
- Sweet chocolate
- Provides the main chocolate flavour and some richness to the pudding.
- Almonds
- Add nutty flavour and a little body and texture to the pudding.
- Bread crumbs
- Add bulk and help give the pudding structure as it sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to help the pudding rise and become lighter.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites before folding them in. Beaten egg whites trap air that gives the pudding lift; if they are under-whipped or deflated, the pudding bakes up dense. Baking powder adds further rise, so the batter should be mixed well but not overworked once the whites are in.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, vanilla, chocolate, bread, butter):
- Almondthe original
- Pecansfits about as well
- Chestnutfits less well
- Cocoafits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, vanilla, chocolate, bread, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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