Why it works: Butter and egg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 118,511 recipes mention both. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 12Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (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). Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides.
Melt the bittersweet chocolate and unsalted butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Let cool slightly.
In a bowl, whisk the large eggs, light brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt over the batter and fold gently until just combined.
Roughly chop the mini creme eggs and fold them into the batter.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Dollop the marshmallow fluff over the top and swirl it in gently with a knife.
Cut the four full size creme eggs in half and press them cut side up into the batter, spacing them evenly.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, not wet batter.
Cool in the pan for at least 1 hour, then lift out with the parchment and cut into 12 squares.
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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Butter + eggtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together118,511 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Chocolate + cocoa powdertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,587 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together10,018 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 3% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together35,031 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Vanilla + cocoa powdertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,189 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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