Name: Fried Cakes
Ingredients: one cup of sour milk; 1 cup of sugar; 3 tablespoons of but- ter; 1 teaspoon of soda; 2 teaspoons of baking powder; half cups of buttermilk; 2 cups of sugar; 1 teaspoon of saleratus; two cups of sugar; 1 cup of sweet milk; 1 cup of hot mashed pota- toes; 2 tablespoons of melted butter; 3 teaspoons of baking powder; 4 cups of flour; 3 tablespoons of melted butter; one cup of molasses; 1 teaspoon of ginger; 1 cup of butter; 1 teaspoon of soda dissolved in the hot water; two cups of molasses; 1 cup of lard; 1 cup of new orleans molasses; 1 cup of water; 6 cups of flour; 3 teaspoons of cinnamon; 1 teaspoon cloves; one cup of butter; 1 cup of sugar creamed; 2 cups of flour; a teaspoon of salt

Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon 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.

Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,721 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour: Builds the structure that holds the dough together and sets as it cooks.
Eggs: Add structure and richness, helping the dough bind and bake up firm.
Butter: Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor in the finished cakes.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the cakes brown as they cook.
Baking powder: Releases gas that makes the cakes rise and lighten.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark color to the dough.

The step that matters

Mix just hard enough to roll. Working the dough develops gluten, and adding too much flour dries it out. Both make the cakes tough and dense, so mix only until the dough can be rolled.

Swap the ginger

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

Nutmegfits better
Cardamomfits better
Allspicefits about as well
Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, buttermilk, butter, flour, molasses, cinnamon. 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
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Sour Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Fruit	not in our table	0

Fried Cakes

Fried Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)