Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Hard Ginger Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make and shape the dough
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, molasses, ginger, baking soda, lard, and buttermilk until well combined.
Roll the dough thin on a floured surface.
Cut into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet.
Bake
Bake quickly until golden brown.
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.
-
Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the dough together as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, sweetness and a deep color to the browned surface.
- Lard
- Adds fat, which tenderizes the crumb and keeps the cakes from drying out.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses and buttermilk to help the cakes rise and lighten.
- Buttermilk
- Adds acidity that activates the baking soda and contributes moisture.
- Ginger
- Supplies the warm, spicy aroma that defines the cake.
The step that matters
Bake quickly until golden brown. Baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets the acidic buttermilk and molasses, so the dough should go into the hot oven promptly. Watching for golden brown prevents overbaking, which would dry the cakes out.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, molasses, buttermilk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, molasses, buttermilk. 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.
More ginger cakes recipes
You might also like
Ginger Cookies213 recipes
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Ginger Cake93 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.