Why it works: Sugar and buttermilk match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,973 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Soft Gingerbread
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
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine the molasses, eggs, sugar, lard or butter, buttermilk, baking soda, and ginger.
Mix until just stiff enough to drop from a spoon.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick 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.
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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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk and molasses to lift the batter as it bakes.
- Buttermilk
- Adds acidity for tenderness and activates the baking soda.
- Molasses
- Provides dark color, moisture, and rich flavor.
- Lard or butter
- Adds fat for a tender, soft crumb.
The step that matters
Mix until just stiff enough to drop from a spoon. Overmixing develops gluten and deflates the gas from the baking soda reaction, which can leave the gingerbread dense. Stop once the batter is combined and thick enough to drop from a spoon.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, egg, sugar, butter, buttermilk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, egg, sugar, butter, buttermilk. 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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