Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Nut 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. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together19,187 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

2. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together10,020 recipes

   Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

4. Vanilla + pecanstop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,691 recipes

   Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together35,032 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 pecans

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

1. Almondfits better
2. Hazelnutfits about as well
3. Chestnutfits about as well
4. Pecansthe original

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