Name: Drop Ginger Cakes
Ingredients: one cup molasses; one cup boiling water; one cup brown sugar; three-quarters cup of shortening; one teaspoon soda; one teaspoon cinnamon; two teaspoons ginger; five cups flour; one cup butter; one cup sugar; one cup milk; three cups flour; one teaspoonful soda; half tablespoons butter; half tablespoon lard; one teaspoon ginger; one-half cup of butter; one teaspoonful each of cinnamon; one egg; four eggs; one teacup sugar; two eggs; one teacup molasses; one tea- cup sour milk; two big teacups flour; two well beaten eggs; ginger; cinnamon

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 ↓

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.

Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Cinnamon + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,655 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked 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

Molasses: Adds dark color, moisture and the characteristic gingerbread sweetness and flavor.
Eggs: Add structure and richness, helping the batter set as it bakes.
Flour: Provides the structure that sets the batter into a cake-like crumb.
Soda: Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to lighten the batter as it bakes.
Butter: Adds fat for tenderness and flavor.

The step that matters

Add the soda just before the pan. Baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets the acidic liquid. Adding it at the last moment and getting the batter into the oven quickly keeps the gas bubbles that lift the cake from escaping.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, milk, egg):

Nutmegfits better
Cardamomfits better
Clovefits about as well
Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, milk, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Sour Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Water	not in our table	0

Drop Ginger Cakes