Award-winning Chocolate Sheet Cake

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.

1. Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together5,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

2. Cocoa + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together357 recipes

   Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

3. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,721 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together35,032 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

5. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,341 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

What each ingredient does

Eggs

Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets in the oven.

Buttermilk

Adds moisture and tenderness and reacts with baking soda to help the cake rise.

Baking soda

Releases gas in the acidic batter so the cake rises and becomes light.

Flour

Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.

Sugar

Sweetens the cake and helps keep it moist and tender.

Butter

Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb.

Swap the cocoa

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

1. Almondfits better
2. Chestnutfits better
3. Hazelnutfits better
4. Cocoathe original

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