Why it works: Evaporated milk and cream cheese work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and 70 recipes mention both. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 12Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
- Muffin Ingredients
- Topping
- FOR FROSTING
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Whisk the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.
Work the cut butter pieces into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
In a second bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, egg and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla until smooth. Stir in the golden raisins if using (optional).
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until no dry flour remains. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.
Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, then sprinkle the topping evenly over the muffins.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then move the muffins to a rack to cool completely.
For the frosting, beat the softened butter and cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, then the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, until fluffy.
Spread or pipe the frosting over the cooled muffins and serve.
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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Evaporated milk + cream cheesetop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together70 recipes
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,324 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Butter + cream cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,746 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, pumpkin, evaporated milk):
- Cardamombetter flavor fit
- Gingerthe original
- Cloveabout as good a flavor fit
- Allspiceabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, pumpkin, evaporated milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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