Name: Chocolate Chip Cake
Yield: 1 layer cake
Ingredients: 2/3 cup butter; 3/4 cup packed brown sugar; 3/4 cup white sugar; 3 eggs; 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup whole wheat flour; 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup milk; 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 19,187 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together2,418 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,032 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

Chocolate Chip Cake