Name: Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: Serves 12
Ingredients: Butter for coating cake pans, at room temperature; 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan; 2 cups granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 3 large eggs, beaten; 1 cup canola or vegetable oil; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin purée; 1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut; 3/4 cup canned crushed pineapple (do not drain); 1/3 cup dried currants; 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 2 tablespoons canned unsweetened pumpkin purée; 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,686 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Clove + vanillatop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,049 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg, vanilla):

Cardamomfits about as well
Clovethe original
Allspicefits about as well
Gingerfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg, vanilla. 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
Coconut	1/2 cup shredded (40g)	283
Canola	1 tbsp (14g)	124
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Pineapple	1 cup chunks (165g)	82
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Cloves	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Cake	not in our table	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0

Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting