Name: Plum Buckle with Pecan Topping Recipe
Cook time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), plus more for coating the pan; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; Pinch fine salt; 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans; 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon fine salt; 1/3 cup whole milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), at room temperature; 2 large eggs, at room temperature; 1 pound (about 5 whole) plums, pitted and cut into large dice

Why it works: Cinnamon and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,287 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. 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.

Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cinnamon + pecanstop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,047 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Pecans + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,691 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

Swap the pecans

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

Almondfits better
Chestnutfits better
Hazelnutfits better
Pecansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, milk, 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
Pecans	1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)	196
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Plum Buckle with Pecan Topping Recipe