Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Soft Ginger Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, beat the eggs well.
Add molasses, brown sugar, and softened butter to the eggs and mix until combined.
In another bowl, combine flour, ground ginger, and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until smooth.
If using, add the coarse sea salt and mix well.
Bake
Pour the batter into shallow pans.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center 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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the oven.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep sweetness and the dark color typical of ginger cakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to help the cakes rise and brown.
- Ground ginger
- Provides the main spiced aroma that defines the cake.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour in portions and mixing until smooth prevents lumps and overmixing. Too much mixing at once can develop gluten and make the cakes tough, while uneven mixing leaves pockets of unincorporated flour or soda.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, molasses, sugar, butter, flour, cream):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, molasses, sugar, butter, flour, cream. 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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