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 ↓
Ginger Pound 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.
Prepare
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk.
Line the baking pans with greased paper and cover the top with brown paper to prevent burning.
Mix and bake
In a large bowl, mix the flour, butter, brown sugar, molasses, eggs, cinnamon, ginger, and dissolved baking soda until well combined.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick inserted in the center 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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Cinnamon + milktop 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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it sets.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving a tender crumb and a rich mouthfeel.
- Eggs
- Add structure and moisture, helping the batter set as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds dark sweetness, moisture and depth of flavour, and helps the cake brown.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, contributing to a soft texture and browning.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the sour milk. Baking soda needs an acid to react and release carbon dioxide. Sour milk supplies that acid, so the soda must be fully dissolved and mixed in promptly to spread the reaction evenly and give the cake an even rise.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, molasses, egg, cinnamon, milk):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, molasses, egg, cinnamon, milk. 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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