Name: Soft Ginger Cake
Ingredients: ½ cup molasses; ½ cup sour cream; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup flour; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; ¼ teaspoon salt

Why it works: Molasses and ginger are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,116 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Soft Ginger Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

Make the batter

In a bowl, mix the molasses, sour cream, and egg until well combined.
Add the baking soda, flour, ground ginger, and salt to the mixture and stir until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.

Bake

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,116 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,564 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,429 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Molasses + creamtop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,408 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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

Molasses: Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture with a deep, rich flavor.
Sour cream: Adds moisture and tenderness and gives the crumb a soft texture.
Egg: Binds the ingredients together and adds structure as the cake sets.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses and sour cream to produce gas that lifts the batter.
Flour: Provides the main structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
Ground ginger: Provides the warm, spicy aroma that defines the cake.