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 ↓
Soft 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix together the molasses, brown sugar, and butter until well combined.
In a separate bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk, then add it to the molasses mixture.
Stir in the ground ginger and eggs until fully incorporated.
Gradually add the flour, mixing until the batter is smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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.
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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Flour + milktop 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
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color and a rich, sweet flavor to the cake.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to release gas, helping the cake rise and turn soft.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and tenderizes the crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure and help bind the batter as it bakes.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the crumb.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the sour milk. Baking soda needs an acid to react and produce gas. Combining it with the sour milk before adding it to the batter lets the reaction begin, which helps the cake rise. Mixing it in loosely or skipping it may leave the cake dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, flour, milk, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, flour, milk, egg. 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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