Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix together the molasses, sugar, butter, and sour milk.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined.
Add the baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon or nutmeg, and mix well.
Gradually stir in the flour until the batter is smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into small tins.
Bake for about 25-30 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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 moisture, dark color and deep sweetness to the crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets in the oven.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda so the gingerbread rises and stays tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to release gas, lifting the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the gingerbread its structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender, moist texture and rich flavor.
The step that matters
Stirring in the flour. Overmixing once the flour is added develops too much gluten, which makes the gingerbread tough and dense rather than soft. Stir only until the batter is smooth.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, milk, egg, cinnamon, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, milk, egg, cinnamon, flour. 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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