spice cake with lemon sauce
My memory of this spice cake is of coming home from school and slicing a piece right out of the pan, putting a little lemon sauce on it, warming it up in the microwave for a few seconds, then sitting down to watch a M*A*S*H rerun on television before I had to start my homework. Heaven! We used a really tangy lemon sauce for years, but our longtime family friend Miss Betty Maxwell turned us on to this sweeter version of the sauce and it’s so good. I make this cake at the first sign of fall. The smell of it baking in the house gets me excited because I know Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!
Servings
22
Servings
22
Ingredients
Cake
Lemon Sauce
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the bottom of a 9 × 13 × 2-inch baking pan.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. With an electric mixer, cream the sugars with the shortening. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the buttermilk alternately with the flour mixture, beginning and ending with flour, stirring until no flour is visible. Don’t overbeat. Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool the cake slightly in the pan and turn out onto a long rack while still warm.
  3. To make the sauce, whisk the eggs and sugar over medium heat in the top of a double boiler. Stir in the lemon juice, zest, and butter. Cook the mixture until it thickens, about 30 minutes.
  4. Cut the spice cake into squares and serve warm with lemon sauce.
Recipe Notes

The lemon sauce may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.