Chocolate 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. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

3. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together18,623 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together43,450 recipes

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

5. Milk + corntop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together6,955 recipes

   Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs

Egg yolks and whites add structure, richness and lift to the crumb as they set.

Flour

Provides the starch and protein that form the cake's structure as it bakes.

Sugar

Adds sweetness, keeps the crumb moist, and helps the top brown.

Butter

Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and gives a richer flavor.

Baking soda

Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that helps the cake rise.

Corn starch

Softens the flour's gluten, giving a finer, more tender crumb.

The step that matters

Swap the nutmeg

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

1. Nutmegthe original
2. Cinnamonfits about as well
3. Jalapenofits less well
4. Tarragonfits less well

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