Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Speculoos
Analysing hundreds of thousands of recipes uncovers speculoos's optimal flavour pairings.
Speculoos are defined by the unmistakable flavours of cinnamon and caramel, but beneath its sweetness lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as clove, sugar, and vanilla, that give it remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for speculoos is understanding how these notes harmonise.
To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our analysis reveals, for example, how apple's pyrus tones ground speculoos, and how brown sugar's molassesey notes create a surprising synergy with its sweet-spicy aroma.
Flavour Profile Of Speculoos Across 150 Dimensions Of Flavour
An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. spice, maillard, and nectarous) enhanced by layers of subtle aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim for a mix of core traits to build balance, and select complementary aroma notes to create harmony.
The Art of Flavour Pairing
To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.
Our analysis shows that the flavour of cinnamon is strongly associated with the flavour of molasses. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a molasses flavour, such as brown sugar, when pairing with the cinnamonic accents of speculoos.
The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing speculoos with brown sugar.
Harmonious Flavours Of Speculoos
Just as our analysis highlighted that cinnamon and tannic flavours are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour accents present in speculoos. For instance, the caramel notes of speculoos are strongly associated with pear-like and banana-like flavours.
The aromas linked to the various notes of speculoos can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.
Flavour Profile Of Speculoos And Its Complementary Flavour Notes
Matching Flavour Profiles
The flavour profile of apple offers many of the aromas complementary to speculoos, including pear and malic aroma notes. 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.
Prominent Flavour Notes Of Apple Are Represented By Longer Bars
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 accents that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of speculoos, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.
The Flavour Notes That Harmonise With Speculoos And The Ingredients That Share Some Of These Notes
Speculoos's Strongest Flavours
Complementary Flavours
Ingredients with Complementary Flavours
Flavour groups:
Nectarous
Acidic
Floral
Herbal
Vegetal
Maillard
Woody
Carnal
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 dry cider make it a perfect pairing with speculoos. Likewise, the malic flavours in mondeuse blanche create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of speculoos below.
The content on our analysis blog is semi-automated. All of the words were manually written by a human, but the content is updated dynamically based on the data.