Sponge Gingerbread.
5 cups of flour, dried and sifted. Measure after sifting.
1 cup of molasses.
2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
1 cup of sugar.
1 rather larger cup of sour, or buttermilk.
2 teaspoonfuls of saleratus (not soda), dissolved in hot water.
2 teaspoonfuls ginger.
1 teaspoonful of cinnamon.
Mix molasses, sugar, butter, and spice together. Warm slightly, and beat hard for five minutes. Add the milk, then the soda, lastly the flour. Beat three minutes, and bake in a broad, shallow pan. Take heed that it does not burn. Eat warm.