Why it works: Butter and cocoa work together. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 548 recipes. Both carry delta-undecalactone, which smells coconut, creamy. The science ↓
Filling for Chocolate Cream Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Mix thoroughly, put over a vessel of hot water and stir to a smooth cream.
Let cool a little before spreading on cake, or it will run.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
-
Butter + cocoatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together548 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-undecalactone (coconut, creamy).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Cocoa + sugartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together956 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, spreadable texture to the filling.
- Cocoa
- Provides chocolate flavour and colour to the cream.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps give it a smooth body.
The step that matters
Let cool a little before spreading on cake. Warm filling is thin and runny, so it will slide off the cake. Cooling it slightly lets it thicken to a spreadable consistency.
Swap the cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar):
- Almondfits better
- Pecansfits better
- Filbertfits better
- Cocoathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
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