Why it works: Cream cheese and strawberry jam share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 19 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 1Ingredients
Contains: milk (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.
Let the cream cheese soften at room temperature for about 15 minutes so it beats smoothly.
Beat the softened cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
Add the powdered sugar and beat on low until combined, then on medium until smooth, about 1 minute.
Stir the strawberry jam into the cream cheese mixture until evenly blended and no streaks remain.
Gently fold in the Cool Whip with a rubber spatula until no white streaks remain and the frosting is light and fluffy.
Spread right away on cooled cake or cupcakes, or refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use.
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.
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Cream cheese + strawberry jamtop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together19 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + strawberry jamtop 13% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together291 recipes
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Cream cheese + sugartop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,793 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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