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 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.
Add the molasses and buttermilk, mixing well.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Beat in the eggs until fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes or 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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 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 structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness and help bind the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses and buttermilk to produce gas that lifts the cake.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, moisture and a deep flavor to the cake.
- Buttermilk
- Adds acidity and moisture, tenderizing the crumb and activating the baking soda.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness, richness and flavor.
The step that matters
Stir the flour mixture in gently. Once flour meets liquid, gluten begins to form. Stirring only until combined keeps the crumb tender, while overmixing makes the cake tough and dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, buttermilk, flour, egg, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, buttermilk, flour, egg, cinnamon. 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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