Name: Dutch Pancake with Spiced Apples
Ingredients: 4 eggs; 1 cup milk; 3/4 cup flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon sugar; 3 tablespoons butter, softened; 2 large apples, peeled &,cored; 2 tablespoons butter; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ginger

Why it works: Cinnamon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Apple + gingertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,424 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Set the batter's structure and help it puff and turn golden in the oven.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the pancake together as it bakes.
Milk: Adds moisture and, with the eggs, helps the batter steam and rise.
Butter: Adds fat and flavour, and sizzles in the hot skillet to help the batter set.
Apples: Soften while cooking and add fruity moisture and body to the topping.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and caramel notes as the apples cook.

The step that matters

Keep the oven hot and serve right away. The batter puffs from steam and the heat set of the eggs and flour, so it deflates quickly once out of the oven. Opening the door or waiting lets it fall, so serve as soon as it leaves the oven.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, flour, sugar, butter, apple, cinnamon):

Nutmegfits better
Cardamomfits better
Clovefits about as well
Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, flour, sugar, butter, apple, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Dutch Pancake with Spiced Apples