Why it works: Cinnamon and ginger 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 ↓
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. 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix the drippings (or butter and lard), sugar, molasses, milk, and eggs until well combined.
In another bowl, combine the sifted flour and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth.
Add cinnamon and ginger to taste.
Pour the batter into a greased pan.
Bake
Bake for about 30-40 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.
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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Cinnamon + gingertop 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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Flour + cinnamontop 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help set the crumb as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds dark color, moisture, and a deep, sweet flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lifts the cake.
- Drippings or butter and lard
- Add fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cake brown as it bakes.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour in stages and stirring only until smooth keeps the batter evenly mixed and limits gluten development, which keeps the cake tender rather than tough.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, molasses, milk, egg, flour, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, molasses, milk, egg, flour, cinnamon. 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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