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 ↓
Soft Gingerbread
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.
Make the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and brown sugar together until smooth.
Add the egg yolks and mix well.
Stir in the molasses and buttermilk.
Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk and add to the mixture.
Gradually add the flour, ginger, and cinnamon, mixing until combined.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick 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.
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.
-
Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
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
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and structure, while whipped whites lighten the batter.
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, dark colour and the characteristic gingerbread flavour and moisture.
- Buttermilk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda, helping the cake rise and stay tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce carbon dioxide, which makes the cake rise.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten network that gives the cake its structure.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that lightens the batter. Stirring them in vigorously knocks that air out, so fold gently with a spatula until just combined for a softer, higher crumb.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, molasses, buttermilk, flour, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, molasses, buttermilk, flour, 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.
More soft gingerbread 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.