Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon 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 ↓
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the eggs separately until fluffy.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, molasses, butter, and buttermilk until well combined.
Add the beaten eggs to the mixture and stir.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth.
Pour the batter into two greased flat pans or drop large spoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.
Bake
Bake for 25-30 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.
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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness to the cake.
- Buttermilk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to lift the cake and tenderize the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk and molasses to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavor.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour gradually and stirring only until smooth limits gluten development, keeping the crumb tender rather than tough, while the baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets the acidic liquid, so the batter should go into the oven promptly.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, molasses, butter, buttermilk, flour, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, molasses, butter, buttermilk, flour, cinnamon. 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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