Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Richer Gingerbread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the paste
Melt together three-quarters of a pound of treacle and half a pound of fresh butter.
Pour them hot on a pound of flour mixed with half a pound of sugar and three-quarters of an ounce of ginger.
Roll and bake
When the paste is quite cold, roll it out with as much more flour as will prevent its adhering to the board.
Bake the cakes in a very gentle oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
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).
-
Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Treacle
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and a moist, sticky texture to the paste.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the paste together when rolled and baked.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cakes brown in the oven.
- Ginger
- Provides the spiced aroma that defines the gingerbread flavour.
The step that matters
Let the paste cool before rolling. A hot paste is soft and sticky, so it clings to the board and tears. Cooling firms the butter and lets the dough hold its shape, which is why extra flour is worked in during rolling.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar. 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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