Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce

Mary Leverington's Note:

This was my favorite dessert when I was a little girl. I can remember clearly the smell of the gingerbread cooking in the oven--even now the smell bring goose bumps. Having two brothers I had to compete vigorously for my share of seconds. If I lost, my mother would always give me her piece when the the boys weren't looking. I don't have it any longer, but I remember finding this recipe many years later on a little scrap of paper in the pages of my mother's favorite cookbook.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 9

Gingerbread

• 2 cups sifted flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ cup wheat germ
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¾ cup molasses
• 1⁄3; cup vegetable oil

Lemon Sauce

• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1⁄8; teaspoon salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Gingerbread: Grease 9x9x2" baking pan.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves into a large bowl.
4. Stir in the wheat germ.
5. Beat eggs in a medium size bowl until frothy.
6. Stir in buttermilk, molasses and oil, mixing well.
7. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing well.
8. Pour into prepared pan.
9. Bake in oven for 35 minutes or until top springs back when pressed.
10. Cool in pan on wire rack.
11. Cut into squares.
12. Serve warm with Lemon Sauce.
13. Lemon Sauce: Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan, mixing well.
14. Stir in boiling water and bring to boil again, stirring constantly.
15. Lower heat and simmer, stirring, until sauce is thickened and clear.
16. Stir in butter, lemon rind and juice.
17. Pour over warm Gingerbread.

Reviews

[ranch-girl]

I served this for dessert tonight and it got rave reviews. A fabulous gingerbread, low in saturated fat, and the sauce elevates it to a new level! I wanted to be sure the sauce was very lemony and tart, so I used 1/4 cup lemon juice and 5 t cornstarch (like Lemon Dessert Sauce with extra cornstarch because I always seem to need more than recipes call for - maybe high altitude does that?). Thanks for posting - this is a keeper!