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 ↓
Ginger Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Heat the shortening in a saucepan until boiling.
Remove from heat and stir in molasses, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and baking soda.
Beat the mixture well, then add the eggs.
Gradually mix in enough flour to form a stiff dough.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough thinly and cut into shapes with a cake cutter.
Bake on greased tins in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden.
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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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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 dark color, moisture, and a deep, sweet flavor to the dough.
- Light brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cakes brown.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and add structure to the dough.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that turns the mixture into a stiff, rollable dough.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses and sugar to help the cakes rise and lighten.
- Shortening
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the dough.
The step that matters
Remove from heat before stirring in the molasses and baking soda. Baking soda reacts quickly with acidic molasses and gives off gas, so adding it to a very hot mixture can cause excessive foaming. Stirring in the ingredients off the heat keeps the reaction controlled and the rise even.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, sugar, cinnamon, egg, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, sugar, cinnamon, egg, 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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