Why it works: Chocolate and coffee match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,497 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells buttery, creamy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 10Ingredients
Contains: egg, 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.
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line 10 muffin cups with paper liners or grease them.
In a small bowl, whisk the instant pudding mix with 1 cup of the milk for 2 minutes until thickened, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the half box of cake mix with the remaining 1/2 cup milk, the brewed coffee, yogurt and egg whites until smooth.
Fold the chilled pudding into the batter, then spoon it into the liners, filling each about two-thirds full.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back. The cupcakes must be fully set and cooked through.
Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes, then move them to a rack to cool completely.
Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring until smooth. Let it cool slightly.
Press a small well into the top of each cupcake and spoon in 1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup. Drizzle with a little of the melted chocolate.
Pipe or spoon the whipped cream on top, add a final drizzle of melted chocolate, and refrigerate until serving.
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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Chocolate + coffeetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Milk + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together19,175 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together10,018 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Milk + coffeetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,201 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Coffee + vanillatop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,391 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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