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 gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the molasses and buttermilk to the butter mixture and mix well.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased and lined cake pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Buttermilk + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter set as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk and molasses to lift the batter as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness that helps browning.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that tenderizes the crumb and activates the baking soda.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Once flour meets liquid, gluten begins to form. Mixing only until combined keeps the crumb tender, while overmixing makes the cake tough and dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, molasses, buttermilk, sugar, butter, cinnamon, egg):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, molasses, buttermilk, sugar, butter, cinnamon, egg. 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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