Name: Oil Slick in a Glass
Ingredients: 1/8 teaspoon sea salt; 1/2 cup dark brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate; 1 1/2 cups Everclear; 1 1/2 cups Sam Adams Utopias; 1 cup heavy cream

Why it works: Vanilla and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Oil Slick in a Glass

Ingredients

Directions

Make the caramel

Cook sugar over moderate heat in a heavy saucepan, stirring with a fork until melted and then swirling the pan until the sugar is a deep golden caramel color.
Remove the pan from the heat and add cream; the mixture will bubble up.

Finish and serve

Simmer the mixture and stir until caramel dissolves; add Everclear and Utopias.
Add chocolate and salt, and cook over low heat, whisking (i.e., whipping the mixture with a wire whisk) until smooth.
Whisk in vanilla.
Ladle into coffee cups/coffee mugs and serve as is.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

267Calories

2 gProtein

14 gFat

30 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	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).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Chocolate + creamtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,466 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,404 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Dark brown sugar: Melts into a caramel that gives the drink its deep, sweet flavor.
Heavy cream: Adds fat and body, giving the mixture a smooth, rich texture.
Unsweetened chocolate: Provides bitter cocoa flavor and fat, thickening the mixture as it melts smooth.
Everclear: Grain alcohol that adds strength and carries the flavors of the other ingredients.

The step that matters

Remove the pan from the heat before adding cream. Cream added to hot caramel bubbles up vigorously and can splatter. Taking the pan off the heat first lets the caramel cool slightly so the cream blends in more safely and evenly.

“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.

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Oil Slick in a Glass