Why it works: Cinnamon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ginger Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Beat the eggs until very light and add them to the mixture.
Gradually add the cinnamon, ginger, and flour, stirring continuously.
Beat the mixture well before adding the baking soda, then mix briefly.
Bake
Line the pans with parchment paper and pour in the batter.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Cinnamon + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the cake rich and gives it a tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown while creaming aerates the batter.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and, when beaten light, trap air that lifts the cake.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure as its proteins set during baking.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, dark color, and acidity that activates the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to release gas, helping the cake rise.
The step that matters
Mix briefly after adding the baking soda. Once flour is in, overmixing develops gluten and toughens the cake. Brief mixing keeps the crumb tender while the baking soda still lifts it.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, cinnamon, molasses):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, cinnamon, molasses. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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