Gingerbread Cake

Cream sugar and shortening. Add beaten egg and molasses. Sift dry ingredients together, and add to the mixture. Mix well. Add hot water last, and beat until smooth. Batter will be soft, but it makes a fine cake. Bake at 325°F to 350°F for about 30 minutes. (Her recipe did not include a bake time, but I timed it the last time I baked this, and it was 30 minutes at 350°F in a standard 9×13 cake pan.)

Ice the cake with 7-minute frosting.

To make the frosting, in a double boiler, combine sugar, cold water, egg whites, corn syrup and a dash of salt. Beat for 3 seconds at low speed. Place over boiling water. Cook for 7 minutes while beating at high speed with a mixer or until soft peaks form. Remove from heat, add vanilla and whip with a spoon. Goes great on gingerbread and angel food cake.