Name: Patriotic Red Velvet Cheesecakes
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 2 h
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2-½ pounds FOR THE CHEESECAKE LAYER:; 1-½ cup Cream Cheese, At Room Temperature; 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar; 1 pinch Vanilla Extract; 5 whole Salt; 2 Eggs; ½ cups Egg Yolks; 3 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt; 1-¼ cup Flour; 1 cup FOR THE RED VELVET LAYERS; ¼ cups All-purpose Flour; 1 teaspoon Cake Flour; ¼ teaspoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder; 1 cup Baking Soda; 1 ounce, fluid Salt; 1 Tablespoon Milk; 1 teaspoon Red Food Coloring (usually One Little Bottle); 1-¾ cup White Vinegar; 1 stick Vanilla Extract; 2 whole Dark Brown Sugar; 1 pound Unsalted Butter, At Room Temperature; 1 stick Eggs; 2 teaspoons FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:; 1 pinch Cream Cheese, Softened To Room Temperature; 3-½ cups Butter, At Room Temperature

Why it works: Vanilla and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. 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 + milktop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Cream cheese + yogurttop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together873 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Vanilla + cocoa powdertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,189 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Vanilla + yogurttop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,191 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Patriotic Red Velvet Cheesecakes