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Toffee Bar Cake

"A quick crumb cake with toffee bits, chopped nuts and streusel topping...enjoy!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 19,175 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

The recipe

1 - 9x13 inch pan
Prep15 min
Cook35 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan with a little of the softened butter.

  2. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and the 1/2 cup softened butter until light and creamy.

  3. Beat in the beaten egg and the vanilla extract until smooth.

  4. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

  5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two or three additions, alternating with the milk, and mix until just smooth.

  6. Stir in the chopped walnuts and one 6 ounce package of toffee baking bits.

  7. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle the second package of toffee baking bits over the top.

  8. Bake for 33 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the egg is set.

  9. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together19,175 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Butter + milktop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together81,222 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together35,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Flour + buttertop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together122,858 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Butter + vanillatop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together19,983 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

Flavor stand-ins for the walnut

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

  1. Almondbetter flavor fit
  2. Cocoabetter flavor fit
  3. Pecansbetter flavor fit
  4. Walnutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, butter, egg, milk, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).