Why it works: Molasses and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Molasses Cake
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.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix molasses and shortening until well combined.
Make the batter
Dissolve baking soda in hot water and add to the mixture.
Gradually stir in the flour until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 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
- Molasses
- Provides the dark color, rich flavor, and moisture, and sweetens the cake.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and helps the cake feel soft.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to release gas, helping the cake rise.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Hot water
- Adds moisture and dissolves the baking soda so it spreads through the batter.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda fully in the hot water. Baking soda must be evenly dissolved before it goes into the batter. Undissolved pockets react unevenly, causing holes, bitter spots, or dense patches in the finished cake.
“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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