Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Ginger Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream together the brown sugar and the butter and lard mixture.
Beat the eggs and add them to the creamed mixture.
Stir the ground ginger into the molasses and add it to the mixture.
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk and stir it in.
Add enough flour until the batter can drop from a spoon.
Beat the mixture thoroughly and pour it into a baking pan.
Bake
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until done.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- New orleans molasses
- Provides dark sweetness, moisture and the characteristic ginger-cake flavor and color.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cake stay tender and deeply flavored.
- Butter and lard
- Provides fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor through the batter.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter bind and set during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to release gas, helping the cake rise and lighten.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture and tang.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk. Baking soda needs an acid to react and release carbon dioxide. Sour milk supplies it, so the soda should be fully dissolved and stirred in promptly to get an even rise before the batter sets.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour. 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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