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Dessert

Ginger-bread

A sweet molasses-based bread with spices and raisins.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Ginger-bread

Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Ginger-bread

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

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Make the batter

  1. In a large bowl, mix molasses, sour cream or butter with milk, and coffee.

  2. Add baking soda, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, ground ginger, and salt; stir well.

  3. Gradually add flour until batter reaches suitable consistency.

  4. Fold in raisins to taste.

Bake

  1. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake 30‑40 minutes or until 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.

  1. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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 that define the gingerbread.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic sour cream or coffee to produce gas that lifts the batter.
Sour cream or butter with milk
Adds moisture and tenderness, and its acidity helps the baking soda work.
Flour
Builds the structure that holds the batter together as it bakes.
Ground ginger
Supplies the warm, spicy aroma that characterizes gingerbread.

The step that matters

Gradually add flour until batter reaches suitable consistency. Adding flour gradually lets you stop at the right thickness, since too much flour makes the crumb dense and dry. Over-mixing after the flour is added also develops gluten, which toughens the cake.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, cream, coffee, clove, cinnamon, allspice, ginger):

  1. Orangefits better
  2. Vanillafits about as well
  3. Raisinthe original
  4. Figfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, cream, coffee, clove, cinnamon, allspice, ginger. 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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