Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce

Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce

Gingerbread may bring to mind a crisp, flat cookie, but Gingerbread has several different culinary meanings. This recipe for Gingerbread is a soft, delicately spiced cake, that is served slightly warm with a rich Lemon Sauce.

I think of Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce as comfort food…..a nice ending to a wonderful meal. 

The Lemon Sauce is also very nice over fresh berries.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread

Serves 8 wedges
Inspiration Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 Tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 Tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 Tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 Tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco shortening)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Large egg
  • 1/2 cup cooking molasses

Directions

Grease a 9 x 1 1/2 inch round cake pan. Glass is preferable. In a bowl stir together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar gradually, scraping the bowl to incorporate all the sugar. Beat until fluffy.
In order to measure the molasses and still be able to pour it out, it is helpful to pour some oil into the measuring cup and coat the inside of the cup. Then pour all the oil out. The thin coating of oil will not affect the recipe, but will make all the molasses easily come out of the cup.
Add the egg and molasses to the mixture. Beat for another minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Alternately, add flour mixture and 1/2 cup of water to the shortening mixture, beating on low speed after each addition, scraping the sides to incorporate it all. The mixture will be fairly thick. Put the mixture into the prepared pan evenly.
Bake at 350 deg F for 37 - 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan. Serve warm.
Gingerbread

Lemon Sauce

Serves 1 1/3 cups of sauce
Inspiration Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cups white sugar
  • 4 Tsp corn starch
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Tsp freshly shredded lemon peel (about 1 small lemon)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 Beaten egg yolks
  • 6 Tbsp cold butter (cut into tbsp size pieces)
  • 1/4 cup half and half cream (or light cream or milk)

Note

Lemon Sauce is lovely with freshly baked gingerbread or a bowl of fresh berries.

Directions

In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the water, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Place on the burner and cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly. Once it is bubbly, cook it for 1 more minute. Take it off the burner.
Lemon Sauce
Crack each egg over a small bowl and using the halves of the egg shell, alternate putting the yolk in one half or the other, until all the white is in the bowl below. Put that egg yolk in small bowl. Repeat with the other egg. Stir the two egg yolks together.
You now need to temper the eggs. If you added the egg yolks directly into the hot mixture they would cook too quickly and scramble (or curdle). Gradually ladle some of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks, whisking well between each addition. Once you have add about half of the mixture to the eggs, you have raised the temperature of the eggs enough and you can now add the tempered eggs to the saucepan. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes.
Gradually stir in the butter until it is melted. It will help to keep the temperature low and continue to cook the eggs, so they will not curdle. Stir in the half and half.
Lemon Sauce
Serve warm. Cover and chill any leftovers for up to 3 days. It is wonderful with fresh berries or on warm gingerbread.
Lemon Sauce on Fresh Fruit

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