Kyrgyz Gingerbread

Ingredients

 * ⅓ cup shortening
 * ½ cup sugar
 * 1 egg
 * 2½ cups flour
 * 2 teaspoons baking soda
 * 1 teaspoon salt
 * 1 teaspoon ground cloves
 * 1 teaspoon ground ginger
 * ½ teaspoon cinnamon
 * 1 cup molasses
 * 1 cup hot water

Directions

 * 1) Butter and flour a 9x 9 cake pan.
 * 2) Preheat oven to 375°F.
 * 3) Mix flour, baking soda and spices together.
 * 4) Set aside.
 * 5) Mix molasses and hot water.
 * 6) Stir and set aside.
 * 7) Cream shortening and sugar.
 * 8) Add egg and mix well.
 * 9) Alternately add dry ingredients and molasses mixture to creamed mixture.
 * 10) Resulting mixture will be rather thin.
 * 11) Pour into cake pan and bake for 45 minutes or more until a toothpick comes out clean.
 * 12) Cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out.
 * 13) Serve with whipped cream flavored with pure vanilla and sweetened with sugar.