Name: Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened; 1/4 cup butter, softened; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup finely chopped pecans; 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice; 3 large eggs, lightly beaten; 3/4 cup canola oil; 3/4 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb.); 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar; 1/4 cup butter; 3 tablespoons milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup powdered sugar; Additional whole pecans for decoration

Why it works: Vanilla and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,287 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. 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.

Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Pecans + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,047 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Cream cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,747 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Vanilla + pecanstop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,691 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

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 pecans

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

Almondfits better
Macadamia nutfits about as well
Hazelnutfits about as well
Pecansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream cheese, butter, sugar, egg, flour, vanilla, cinnamon. 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
Pecans	1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)	196
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Pecan	1 half (4g)	20
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake