Brian's Blackberry Jam Cake With Caramel Icing

Friday was a momentous day in the George family as it marked our last single-digit human birthday. Penny turned 9. It should be noted that doggie Ellie will turn 1 in May.

We celebrated all weekend with food — duck curry at a favorite Thai restaurant on Friday, homemade meatballs and sauce on Saturday, slow cooker Philly cheesesteaks on Super Bowl Sunday. And for dessert: blackberry jam cake with caramel icing.

I'd never heard of a jam cake before, but was intrigued when I saw my friend and former newspaper colleague Brian post about it on Facebook.

Brian's husband was grew up eating jam cakes in Kentucky. But Brian had never heard of them before either. Brian grew up in Virginia, and I'm from Ohio. I found a Southern Living story that explains that this dessert originated in Appalachia when store-bought sugar was scarce and jam was used to sweeten cakes.

Now because I'd never had or seen a jam cake before, I didn't realize that the icing was supposed to be spread all over the cake. Because the cake is to be baked in a tube pan — like angel food cake — I was picturing icing more as a glaze. Consider the picture of my finished cake.

And now Brian's finished cake.

Brian's is prettier, no doubt. But happy to report mine still tasted amazing. Subtly spiced. Not sickeningly sweet despite all the sugar and jam. Even the kids loved it. (Although, Lucy wants me to leave out the raisins next time.)

Y'all try this cake!

XOXO,
Amy

Brian's Blackberry Jam Cake
2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 pint blackberry jam
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Slow add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, add buttermilk.

In another bowl, sift together flour, salt, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and cocoa. Add this to the sugar-egg-buttermilk mixture and mix well. Add blackberry jam and combine. Place raisins and nuts in a small bowl and coat with a small amount of flour; add to mixture.

Grease and flour a tube pan. Pour cake batter into pan. Cover pan with a stoneware plate. Place a pan of hot water on the bottom rack in the oven, so the cake will steam as it bakes. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a straw inserted in the center comes out clean. Frost with caramel icing.

Caramel Icing
1 1-pound box of light brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup milk

Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Cook until the soft ball* stage. Beat with an electric mixer until thick. If it gets too thick, add a few drops of milk and stir.

*Soft ball stage is candy-making lingo for 235 degrees, and it will be a major marking on any candy thermometer, Brian explained when I asked. He added: If you don't have a candy thermometer, "the test is something like `drop a little into water. If it forms a soft ball (as opposed to a hard ball, hard crack, etc.), you're good to go."

More from Brian: "Because the temperature is so important, making jam cake frosting is among the more complicated things I do. It will probably take longer than you'd expect for it to reach temperature. But it's really good—sweet but sophisticated, not like Betty Crocker glucose goo." (Sorry, Betty.)

Grandma Lucy's Angel Food Cake

When I was a kid, it wasn't June unless we had Grandma's angel food cake slathered in strawberries and whipped cream for my Dad's birthday.

Lucky for all of us, my grandma taught me the recipe and her tricks for making sure this dessert stays light and fluffy:

• Never make it on a humid day (back then not everyone had air conditioning).
• Use a serrated knife to slice the spongy goodness.

It's been awhile since I made angel food cake – June of 2012, to be exact, because my Dad was visiting on his birthday, which happens to be the same day as my husband's.

Last summer, my youngest son Sam took a liking to angel food cake after I let him buy one at the grocery. He can easily devour one "angel cake" on his own in about two days. I had great intentions of making some for him, but life got in the way.

So....a visit from my parents earlier this month, plus a successful strawberry picking outing, plus a couple of angel food cake lovers in the house meant only one thing – it was time to whip up Grandma's Angel Food Cake.

With Father's Day coming this weekend, you might consider making some for the Dads in your life.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Grandma Lucy's Angel Food Cake
1 cup cake flour (I use Swans Down)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
12 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 to 1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have ready a tube pan with a removable bottom (sometimes called an angel food cake pan). Do NOT grease the pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.

A note about the egg whites: For this recipe, separate the egg whites one at a time into a small bowl or cup before adding to the mixing bowl. You want to be sure there are no bits of yolk, as this will prevent the whites from becoming as fluffy as they need to be. Reserve the yolks for another use.

In a large bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Beat with an electric mixer until the egg whites begin to form peaks. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and then continue to beat until stiff peaks form, like in the photo below:

Sprinkle flour mixture over egg whites. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold flour and extracts into egg whites. Do not stir. Gently fold in from the sides and bottom of the bowl. This combines all ingredients without deflating the egg whites.

Spoon batter into angel food cake pan, distributing evenly. Slowly move a knife through the batter to remove air bubbles. Smooth out top with rubber spatula or wooden spoon.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until top of cake is lightly browned and it springs back when you gently push the cake with your finger.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, or until the pan is cool enough to touch.

Then invert cake pan on a funnel to let the cake continue to cool. Don't worry, the cake will not fall out of the pan! Cool completely, at least 2 hours.

Remove tube pan from funnel. Run a rubber spatula around the edges of the cake pan to loosen the cake. Place a plate or cake stand on the top of the cake and invert the pan. Gently lift cake pan up. If cake does not begin to slide out on its own, tap the sides of the pan. Remove outer pan, then ease bottom of pan off what is now the top of the cake. You may need to use a rubber spatula to separate the cake from the pan.

Now you're ready to slice and serve Grandma Lucy's Angel Food Cake. To ensure that the cake retains it's height, be sure to use a serrated knife to cut the cake.

Angel food cake is delicious all by itself, but at my house, we think it tastes even better with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.