Happy Thanksgiving ♥

Giving thanks with a grateful heart.  Wishing all my friends, near and far, a wonderful day. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I'm thankful for you! xo

 

Now let's eat pie!

Gingerbread cake with lemon sauce ♥

Good Morning and Happy Monday! It's cold and rainy here today.  I just got back from dropping John off at school.  The wind is blowing leaves through the streets and it's raining sideways. I'm planning on going out shopping after I finish this post, so hopefully I won't get soaked.  This is typical November for New England, and it's not so bad.  Believe it or not, we still have some colored leaves floating around.

In three days it will be Thanksgiving! We are going to my sister's this year and I am on PIE duty.   Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because all you need to do is EAT! There are no presents or stress.  Just family, friends. and great food.  A time to be thankful for all our blessings. Plus I love turkey and stuffing ♥

We had a nice Sunday dinner at our house last night.  It was Italian night! I had homemade sauce bubbling on the stove all afternoon.  Don't you just love that scent drifting through the house?  It reminds me of when I was little and the sweet smells of my mother's kitchen would fill the house. My hope is that subconsciously John will remember it too.  

I resisted the temptation to decorate for Christmas (I was so close), but after this week I'm going all out! I did put a Christmas CD on as I was cleaning the house. It was Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops Orchestra.  LOVE!!!!  In fact I have it on right now in the background as I type this : )

 

 

Anyway, I'm dying to tell you about this
Gingerbread Cake I made for dessert.  I had to hold John back from stealing his because I wanted to snap this picture.  He's pointing to the one he wanted. To be honest, I think he was in it for the whip cream, but it turned out he really liked the cake too.

 

 

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks - Autumn by Susan Branch.  I've had this book for years and this is the first time I have ever made her Gingerbread Cake. I met Susan for the first time in 2004 at a signing for this book (which is why it's my favorite : ). It was a dream come true. She was as lovely & warm as her books, and I feel that energy every time I make one of her recipes!

 

I was fortunate enough to meet her again earlier this year at a signing for A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside, exactly 10 years later. In all that time I don't know how I missed this cake - I thought I had tried them all.  It's delicious and feels old fashioned.  I served it slightly warm, swimming in the yummy lemon sauce, just the way Susan describes in her book ♥

For the cake:

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon ginger

4 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

1 egg

 2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Stir together the first 7 ingredients.

 

Beat in egg.  Sift flour and soda together and add alternately with buttermilk.  Your batter will be nice and fluffy! : )

 

**By the way, if you don't have buttermilk you can make your own.  Just add one tablespoon of lemon juice to one cup of milk.  Wait a few minutes, and voilà, you've got buttermilk! I use this method all the time and it really works**

Bake in a greased 8 inch baking dish for 35 minutes.
 

 

For the lemon sauce:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup boiling water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons butter

dash of nutmeg

 

In a small saucepan combine sugar & cornstarch.  Gradually stir in boiling water.  Cook & stir over medium heat until clear and thick.  Blend in rest of ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate. 

 

 

 

To serve, spoon a little of the sauce onto the plate.  Place a nice big piece of gingerbread on top of the sauce.  Top with whip cream and enjoy ♥ 

 

 

We ended our night with a game (or several) of Chutes and Ladders.  It started out friendly, but then it took a turn.  Some people can be so competitive..... : )

It's nights like this that we will always remember.  Family times together ♥ xo

Well,  I'm off to run errands before the day gets away from me. 

 

Enjoy your Monday!

 

Bye! ♥