Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Cream Gingerbread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Gather all ingredients: one cup Puerto Rico molasses, one cup sour cream, two cups sifted flour, one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon ginger, one even teaspoon soda, one egg, a little cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and two tablespoon brown sugar.
Beat the egg, sugar and spice together.
Add the molasses and one cup of flour.
Add the cream.
Add the other cup of flour with the soda sifted together.
If the batter is not thick enough, add a little more flour, not more than half a cup.
Bake and finish
Bake in a shallow pan.
When done the cake should be about two inches thick.
Ice with boiled icing.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Yogurt | 170g plain Greek | 100 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 a deep, sweet flavor to the cake.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tenderness, and its acidity reacts with the soda to help the cake rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acid in the sour cream to produce gas that lightens the batter.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness.
The step that matters
Adding the extra flour. Flour is added only if the batter is too thin, and only a little at a time. Too much flour makes the cake dense and dry, while too little leaves it weak and sunken.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, cream, flour, sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, cream, flour, sugar, 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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