Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Sponge 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 the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream the shortening until smooth.
Make the batter
Add the sour milk or coffee and mix well.
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add it to the mixture.
Stir in the molasses, eggs, ginger, cloves, and salt.
Gradually add the flour, mixing until just combined.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake
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.
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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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,483 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ginger + molassestop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries the spices' flavour.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure as its proteins set during baking.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and lift as they set in the oven.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark colour and a rich sweetness to the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk or coffee to produce gas that lifts the cake.
- Sour milk or coffee
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture to the batter.
The step that matters
Gradually add the flour, mixing until just combined. Flour proteins form gluten when stirred. Overmixing once flour is added toughens the cake and can make it dense, so mix only until no dry flour remains.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, molasses, egg, flour, clove):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, molasses, egg, flour, 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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