Name: Glazed Lavender Tea Cake
Ingredients: Cake:; 1 cup granulated sugar; 5 Tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 large egg; 1 large egg white; 1- 3/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I substituted; 1 c. buttermilk-because I had it on hand); 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lavender leaves; Cooking Spray; Glaze:; 1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon water; 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. 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.

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).
Vanilla + yogurttop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,191 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Cake	not in our table	0
Lavender	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Glazed Lavender Tea Cake