Why it works: Chocolate and rum match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 285 recipes mention both. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓
The recipe
12 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment or lightly grease it.
Stir the crushed graham crackers, melted butter, white sugar and ground cinnamon until evenly moistened. Press firmly into the bottom of the pan.
Bake the crust for 8 minutes until set and fragrant. Remove from the oven and set the oven to broil on high.
Arrange the large marshmallows in a single layer over the warm crust. Broil 1 to 2 minutes, watching closely, until golden and puffed. Let cool 5 minutes.
Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering, about 3 minutes. Do not let it boil.
Place the bittersweet chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot cream over them. Let stand 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Stir in the dark rum if using.
Pour the ganache over the marshmallows and spread gently. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes, then refrigerate 1 hour until set before cutting into squares.
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.
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Chocolate + rumtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together285 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cinnamon + rumtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together508 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together30,777 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Chocolate + creamtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,463 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar and cinnamon share little aroma chemistry, yet 30,777 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
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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