Name: Double Vanilla Ice Cream Cake
Prep time: 12 h
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Ingredients: 2½ cups cake flour; 1¼ teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; ¾ teaspoon salt; 1¾ cups granulated sugar, divided; 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly; 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 6 egg yolks, at room temperature; 3 egg whites, at room temperature; 1 quart of your favorite; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1 cup evaporated milk; ⅔ cup semisweet chocolate chips; ½ cup unsalted butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Why it works: Vanilla and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. 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 + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Buttermilk + evaporated milktop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together24 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,721 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Double Vanilla Ice Cream Cake