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Italian Cream Cake

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Why it works: Vanilla and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,294 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Italian Cream Cake

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs and oil and beat on low speed for 4 minutes.

  2. Stir in nuts and coconut then pour into well greased and floured rectangular cake pan.

  3. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

  4. Combine all frosting ingredients and spread on cooled cake.

  5. Category:Cathy's Recipes

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

688Calories
12 gProtein
66 gFat
15 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 8 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Pecans1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)196
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Cakenot in our table0
Puddingnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

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.

  1. Vanilla + coconuttop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,294 recipes

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

  2. Pecans + coconuttop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together394 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

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

  4. Egg + pecanstop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,280 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Vanilla + eggtop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together27,347 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

Vanilla and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 27,347 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 (vanilla, egg, coconut):

  1. Macadamia nutfits better
  2. Almondfits better
  3. Brazil nutfits about as well
  4. Pecansthe original

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

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