Name: Brownies' Delight
Ingredients: 4 cups sugar; 4 egg whites; 1 grated coconut; 1 orange, pulp only; 1 cup hickory nuts, chopped; 1 cup raisins, chopped and seeded; 2 tablespoons grated chocolate; 1 cup citron, chopped; 1 cup blanched almonds, chopped

Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Brownies' Delight

Ingredients

Directions

Make 4 layers of a rich white cake.
Add enough water to the sugar to dissolve it and boil.
Beat the egg whites until very stiff.
When a teaspoon of syrup dropped in cold water becomes waxy, pour it slowly into the egg whites, beating continuously until cold.
Divide the mixture into 4 parts.
In the first part, stir in the coconut and orange pulp.
Spread this mixture on the first cake layer.
In the second part, add the hickory nuts, raisins, and chocolate.
Spread this on the second layer.
In the third part, add the almonds and citron.
Spread this on the third layer.
Top with plain frosting.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,781 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Coconut + almondtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,093 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Orange + almondtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,125 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Nuts + almondtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together394 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Chocolate + almondtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,733 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, coconut, nuts, raisin, chocolate, almond):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Datesfits better
Orangethe original

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