Name: Cupcake Milkshake
Ingredients: 6 colorful paper cups; 3 paper straws; 1/2 cup dry vanilla cake mix; 1/4 cup milk; 2 cups vanilla ice cream; Whipped cream and sprinkles for garnish

Why it works: Vanilla and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Cupcake Milkshake

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Trim the paper cups to a height of 2 inches with scissors.
Cut the paper straws in half.

Make the milkshake

Combine the cake mix with the milk in a small bowl.
Add the mixture to a blender with the ice cream.
Blend until smooth.

Serve

Pour the mixture into the prepared cups.
Top each cup with whipped cream and sprinkles.
Insert half of a straw through the whipped cream into the milkshake.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

263Calories

9 gProtein

19 gFat

13 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Ice Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Cake	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.

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 + milktop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Vanilla + creamtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together12,301 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Vanilla and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,301 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

Dry vanilla cake mix: Adds vanilla cake flavor and sweetness to the milkshake.
Vanilla ice cream: Provides the creamy, cold body that makes the shake thick and smooth.
Milk: Thins the mixture so it blends smoothly and combines with the cake mix.

“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.