Gingerbread with Warm Lemon Sauce

My wonderful friend, Nancy, at Promises To Keep, has sent me some of the most wonderful old recipes from her mother and grandmother's collection. This is the first one I made.

Is there anything that smells better than gingerbread baking. No, not even chocolate chip cookies. This was just like my grandmother use to make. She couldn't find the lemon sauce recipe, so we decided this one is very close.

Gingerbread with Warm Lemon Sauce
1 - 9-inch square cake
print recipe1 cup sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter softened
1/2 cup Crisco - Not oil
2 beaten eggs
1 cup molasses. She used New Orleans Brer Rabbit
1 cup sour milk (add 1 teaspoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon baking soda to milk until foamy)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
Dash salt

Have all ingredients at room temperature, about 70 degrees. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch, or close, baking pan or line the bottom with parchment paper

Whisk together in a large bowl, sugar, butter, Crisco and eggs. Whisk together in a small bowl, molasses and sour milk. Whisk together thoroughly flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt.

Add dry ingredients and liquid ingredients alternately to the butter mixture, whisking well after each addition.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cake cool on a rack in the pan.

Warm Lemon Sauce
1 1/2 cups
print recipe
adapted from Joy of Cooking

Combine in a small heavy saucepan and stir thoroughly:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Stir in until well blended:
1 cup water or unsweetened apple juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup strained fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to low and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Serve at once or let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Reheat over low heat, stirring.