Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Soft Gingerbread, Superior
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 and sugar together.
Add the molasses and sour milk or buttermilk, mixing well.
Stir in the beaten eggs, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
Gradually add flour until the batter is soft, similar to pound cake.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for about 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.
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 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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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creaming with sugar traps air and adds richness and a tender crumb.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color and the characteristic sweet, deep gingerbread flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps create a tender texture when creamed with butter.
- Sour milk or buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that tenderizes the crumb and balances the molasses.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as the cake sets in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the batter into a cake as it bakes.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the batter is soft. Adding too much flour at once or overmixing can develop gluten and make the cake tough and dense. Adding it gradually and stopping once the batter is soft, like pound cake, keeps the crumb tender.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, sugar, milk, egg, cinnamon, clove):
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, sugar, milk, egg, cinnamon, clove. 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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