Why it works: Cinnamon and ginger 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 says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour cream and mix well.
In a large bowl, combine lard, warm water, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, molasses, and ground ginger.
Gradually add the sifted flour and baking powder, mixing until smooth. Beat the batter hard for 1 to 2 minutes.
Bake and test
Prepare deep pans lined with greased paper and fill them halfway with the batter.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.
Test for doneness with a broom whisk.
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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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream and molasses to produce gas that lightens the cake.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and acidity, tenderizing the crumb and activating the baking soda.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping bind the batter and set the crumb as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, dark color, moisture and the deep flavor typical of ginger cake.
- Sifted flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Lard
- Adds fat that shortens the crumb and gives a tender texture.
The step that matters
Beat the batter hard for 1 to 2 minutes. Vigorous beating develops gluten in the flour, giving structure and a fine, even crumb. Overmixing after the flour is added can make the cake tough, so timing matters.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, sugar, egg, cinnamon, molasses, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, sugar, egg, cinnamon, molasses, 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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