Jam and Cake. . . Scrumptious!

2/4/11: Blackberry Jam Cake

Doesn't that recipe title sound so scrumptious? For me, putting together jam and cake (two of my favorite things), sounds like perfection. That title is actually what drew me to baking this cake last Friday. I found the recipe in the Nov/Dec 2010 issue of Cook's Country magazine that we subscribe to (check out what America's Test Kitchen changed with this cake, an Appalachian staple, here). I wish I could post the recipe here but copyright issues, ya know.

Anyhow, let me explain this cake to you a little bit. The actual cake is spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and cloves and it also has delicious blackberry jam added. The frosting that the magazine had teamed up with the cake was Caramel Miracle Frosting. And also chopped pecans were added to the side of the cake.

Let me tell you, I like frosting. And I like trying out new ones. So the Miracle Frosting was right up my alley! It is a cooked frosting that starts with a mixture of brown sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Then a load of butter is added and mixed until light & fluffy.

Did I make any modifications to the recipe? I didn't make a Caramel Miracle Frosting, I just made the 'original' version which has white sugar instead of brown. I also omitted the pecans and I used blackberry preserves instead of jam.

Both the cake and the frosting turned out very well and this cake is a great contender for birthdays! (I have two requests already!)

So are there any notes I should leave for myself? Yes.

1. There didn't seem to be enough frosting to cover the entire cake, probably should do 1 1/2 times the recipe next time.

2. I probably need to go a tad bit less on the amount of preserves used for the filling. It sort of leaked to the sides making it harder to frost.

So here it is. . .