Name: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 1/2 cups sugar; 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend; 1 cup sour cream; 1 1/2 cups water; 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 eggs; 1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle (I skipped this); 10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature; 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted; 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out); 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped; 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter; 2 tablespoons light corn syrup; 1/2 cup half-and-half

Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

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.

Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cocoa powder + vanillatop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,189 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Cocoa powder + creamtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together826 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Soybean + vinegartop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together40 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Swap the soybean

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cream, vinegar, vanilla, egg):

Hazelnutfits better
Almondfits better
Chestnutfits better
Soybeanthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cream, vinegar, vanilla, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Peanut	1 oz (28g)	161
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Canola	1 tbsp (14g)	124
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soybean	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Syrup	not in our table	0

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake