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

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

2. Butter + cream cheesetop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,747 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

3. Pecans + cream cheesetop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together465 recipes

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

4. Pecans + buttertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,416 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

5. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Flour

Forms the structure of the crust as it bakes.

Butter

Adds richness and tenderness to the crust.

Pecans

Add crunch and a toasted, nutty flavor.

Instant pudding mix

Thickens the milk into a set, creamy filling.

Cream cheese

Adds tang and body to the creamy topping.

Whipped topping

Lightens the cream cheese mixture into a fluffy layer.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pecans, butter, milk, cream cheese, sugar):

1. Vanillafits better
2. Coconutfits better
3. Figfits better
4. Lemonthe original

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