Name: Red and Green Velvet Cake!
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 1 9x12-inch sheet cake
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegetable shortening; 1 1/2 cups white sugar; 2 eggs; 1 cup buttermilk; 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons red food coloring, or as needed; 2 tablespoons green food coloring, or as needed; 3/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar; 3/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

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.

Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,721 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Cocoa powder + vanillatop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,189 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Vanilla + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,241 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Swap the vanilla

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, buttermilk, cocoa powder, flour, vinegar):

Vanillathe original
Raisinfits about as well
Raspberryfits less well
Lemonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, buttermilk, cocoa powder, flour, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Red and Green Velvet Cake!