Name: Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients: 2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream; 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; Additional black sesame seeds

Why it works: Ginger and sesame are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,531 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓

Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients

2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Additional black sesame seeds

Directions

Beat cream in large bowl until soft peaks form.
Add sugar, vanilla, and ginger. Beat until stiff peaks form.
Using long serrated knife, trim rounded tops off cakes to create flat surface.
Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on plate.
Brush top with 1/3 cup ginger syrup.
Spread half of ganache over top of cake.
Place second layer, cut side up, atop first layer.
Brush with 1/3 cup syrup; spread with remaining ganache.
Top with third cake layer.
Brush with remaining syrup. Spread sides and top with whipped cream frosting.
Sprinkle top with black sesame seeds.
Refrigerate until ganache is set, about 4 hours.
Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

114Calories

0 gProtein

5 gFat

14 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Black Sesame Seed	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Ginger + sesametop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,531 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Vanilla + sesametop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together87 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Vanilla + gingertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,110 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

Swap the sesame

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, sugar, vanilla, ginger):

Chestnutfits better
Almondfits better
Cashew nutfits better
Sesamethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream, sugar, vanilla, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ginger Cookies213 recipes

Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes

Ginger Cake93 recipes

Soft Ginger Bread85 recipes

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Whipped Cream Frosting