Why it works: Cocoa and vanilla work together. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 357 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Combine dry ingredients then stir in oil, water, vinegar and vanilla and mix well.
When well-mixed pour into greased rectangular baking pan.
Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, flavoring, sugar, egg and salt until smooth then stir in chocolate chips and drop by tablespoons over cake batter and cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
Sprinkle with pecans and remaining sugar then bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
Cool before cutting.
Refrigerate any leftovers.
Category:Cathy's Recipes
Category:Cake Recipes
Category:Cocoa Recipes
Category:Cream cheese Recipes
Category:Peanut butter Recipes
Category:Chocolate chip Recipes
Category:Pecan Recipes
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | 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.
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.
-
Cocoa + vanillatop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together357 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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 cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, vinegar, vanilla):
- Chestnutfits better
- Almondfits better
- Hazelnutfits better
- Cocoathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, vinegar, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
Coconut Pudding26 recipes
Coconut Cake17 recipes
Cocoa Nut Candy11 recipes