My Best Gingerbread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 c. flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. molasses
1 c. hot water
1 c. shortening
1/2 c. black molasses
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. flour
1 tsp. ginger
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. boiling water
2/3 c. sugar
1 c. dry white wine
4 whole cloves
3-inch stick cinnamon
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
18 firm, ripe, red plums, stemmed and rinsed
1 c. water

Preparation

Combine sugar, wine, water, cloves, cinnamon and lemon in a saucepan large enough to hold plums.
Bring ingredients to a boil and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Add plums and bring mixture to a boil; lower heat and simmer the plums for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on their ripeness, until they are tender but still hold their shape.
Some plums will be cooked before others.
Remove cooked fruit.
Then, when all are cooked, return all the plums to the syrup.