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Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

"I wanted a frosting for a coconut layer cake that stood up to a stronger flavor without overpowering it and without being too sweet. If frosting a layer cake, I recommend spreading melted apricot preserves over the center layer, along with some frosting."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 9 ingredients
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Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

Why it works: Coconut and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,294 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

5 1/2 cups
Prep15 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

596Calories
5 gProtein
54 gFat
25 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Coconut + vanillatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,747 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  5. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

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 coconut

The recipe marks coconut as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream cheese, butter, sugar, cream, vanilla):

  1. Strawberryfits about as well
  2. Coconutthe original
  3. Bananafits about as well
  4. Raspberryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against cream cheese, butter, sugar, cream, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.