Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Ginger Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, rub together the margarine, flour, sugar, ginger, and baking powder.
Beat the egg until light, then add it to the mixture and rub until it is moist but still crumbly.
Grease a flat baking tin and spread the mixture evenly, about ½ inch thick.
Bake and cool
Bake for about 30 minutes.
Once baked, mark into small cakes and leave in the tin until cool and firm.
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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Margarine
- Rubbed into the flour to add fat, tenderness and a crumbly texture.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure of the cake as it bakes and sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and stays light.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cake brown as it bakes.
- Ground ginger
- Gives the cake its characteristic warm, spicy aroma and flavour.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and adds moisture and structure.
The step that matters
Rubbing in until moist but still crumbly. Overworking the mixture after the egg is added develops gluten in the flour, which can make the cake tough. Stopping when it is moist but still crumbly keeps the texture short and tender.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg):
- Jalapenofits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, egg. 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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