Dolley Madison's Soft Gingerbread

Dolley Madison's Soft Gingerbread ...

Preserved in White House files, the recipe has been used by many another First Lady, right up to our day...
Molasses
Beef drippings (or lard)
Baking soda
Hot water
Flour
Ground ginger
Ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar.
Mix 1 cup molasses (Dolley's "receipt" specified New Orleans molasses) with 2/3 cup fresh beef drippings. Add 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda disspoved in 1/4 cup hot water. Sift your dry ingredients: 2 1/4 cups flour, 4 teaspoons ginger, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Next pour 3/4 cup hot water which has almost reached the boiling point into the molasses mixture alternately with the flour mixture. Beat thoroughly with a rotary or electrib beater. The dough should be soft enough to pour. Bake in a shallow, well-breased baking dish in a preheated medium (350 degrees F.) oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Delicious served warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar."
---Presidents' Cookbook (p. 90)