Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Speculoos

Analysing hundreds of thousands of recipes uncovers speculoos's optimal flavour pairings.

Speculoos instantly conjure the evocative embrace of cinnamon and the kiss of clove, yet its initial sweetness is only the opening gambit. Beneath lies a complex tapestry of delicate allspice, whispers of molasses, and the warm sweetness of caramel. These are the notes that lend it such remarkable, resonant depth. The magic of the kitchen unfolds when we pair speculoos with ingredients that let these nuances sing.

To chart these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, each deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, pinpointing the notes that best complement this ingredient’s profile. Our exploration reveals, for instance, how the sour, tart malic acid in apple can cut through speculoos, and how prune's raisin notes forge a beautiful synergy with its fragrant spiciness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as spice, maillard, or nectarous, combined with layers of subtle flavour notes (outer bars). For a balanced dish, pair ingredients with a variety of core flavours, and choose complementary aroma notes for harmony.

Flavour Pairing Method

To understand how flavour notes harmonise, we analysed more than 50,000 popular ingredient combinations. By exploring these pairings, we identified specific flavour notes that frequently occur together, indicating they share a harmonious relationship.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Cinnamon Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of cinnamon is strongly associated with the flavour of raisin. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a raisin flavour, such as prune, when pairing with the cinnamonic aromas of speculoos.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing speculoos with prune.

Harmonious Flavours Of Speculoos

Just as our analysis reveals that cinnamon and maple flavour notes are often associated, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in speculoos. For instance, the clove-like notes of speculoos are strongly associated with burnt and porky flavours.

The accents complementary to the various notes of speculoos can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of apple offers many of the aroma accents complementary to speculoos, including malic and cucumber aromas. Because the flavour profile of apple has many of the of the features that are complementary to speculoos, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of apple across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with speculoos.

Recipes That Pair Speculoos With Apple

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the aromas that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of speculoos, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of speculoos, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the aromas complementary to speculoos.

What To Drink With Speculoos

The malic notes in apple juice make it a perfect pairing with speculoos. Likewise, the malic flavours in applejack create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of speculoos below.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Speculoos), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.