Molasses Gingerbread

Molasses Gingerbread
MAKES ONE 9-BY-13-INCH CAKE

Molasses and ginger were essential ingredients in early American
cooking. Only the very wealthy could afford to use sugar, so most
people used molasses as a sweetener. It was twenty years after Abraham
Lincoln's assassination before the price of sugar dropped, due to
more efficient processing methods. In this recipe, brown sugar is used
to replace some of the molasses.

l/2 cup butter, at room temperature
l/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
l/2 teaspoon salt
l/2 cup sour cream
l/2 cup light or dark molasses
Whipped cream or •vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-by-l3-inch pan.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the brown sugar.
Beat in the eggs until mixture is light. Combine the flour, ginger,
baking soda, and salt. Combine the sour cream and molasses. Add the
flour mixture alternately with the sour cream-molasses mixture to the
creamed mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 35 to
40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.