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 ↓
Ginger Cakes
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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Rub the yolks of the eggs with the sugar until well combined.
Add the buttermilk, fat, salt, baking soda, molasses, and ginger.
Mix until smooth.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough thin on a floured surface.
Cut into shapes with a cake cutter.
Place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
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.
-
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Buttermilk + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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
- Eggs
- Yolks bind the batter and add richness and structure as the cakes set.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses and buttermilk to produce gas, helping the cakes rise.
- Molasses
- Adds dark color, moisture, and a deep sweetness, and its acidity activates the baking soda.
- Buttermilk
- Adds acidity and moisture, tenderizing the crumb and reacting with the baking soda.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning during baking.
The step that matters
Rolling the dough thin. Thin dough bakes quickly and evenly. Thick pieces can stay doughy in the center while the edges over-brown. Keeping the thickness even helps the cakes set through and brown uniformly.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, buttermilk, molasses):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, buttermilk, molasses. 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.
More ginger cakes recipes
You might also like
Ginger Cookies213 recipes
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Ginger Cake93 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.