Name: Chilli Chocolate Cake
Yield: Makes 1 cake
Ingredients: The Sponge:; 175g wholemeal self raising flour; 175g soft light brown sugar; 175g soft unsalted butter; 3 large eggs, beaten; 1 heaped tbsp of cocoa powder; 1 tsp of baking powder; 1 red chilli pepper, very finely chopped (sweet, mild chillis will work better than fiery ones); 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes; The Filling & Frosting:; 250g dark chocolate (chilli chocolate if you can find it); 250ml double cream; 1 small knob of butter (roughly a large heaped tablespoon); 1 red chilli pepper, very finely chopped; 1/2 tsp of hot chilli powder; 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. 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.

Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cocoa powder + creamtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together826 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Chocolate + creamtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,466 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6

Chilli Chocolate Cake