Name: Ginger Cakes
Ingredients: 1 cup molasses; 1 tablespoon lard; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup milk or cold coffee; 2 eggs

Why it works: Molasses and ginger are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,116 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Ginger Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

In a saucepan, heat molasses, lard, and baking soda until the lard melts.
In a bowl, mix flour, ginger, baking powder, and salt.
Pour the molasses mixture into the dry ingredients.
Add milk or cold coffee and break in the eggs; beat well.

Bake

Pour the batter into patty pans and bake.

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.

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.

Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,116 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,564 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,429 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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 cakes.
All-purpose flour: Provides the structure that holds the cakes together as they bake.
Eggs: Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that helps the cakes rise.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter to give additional lift and a lighter texture.
Lard: Adds fat for tenderness and a moist, soft crumb.