Jam Cake

About 22 years ago, I visited my Grandma.  Grandpa had already passed away and this was the first time I had visited "down home" on my own.  My grandma and grandpa raised 13 children on a farm in the Mormon Colonies in Mexico - Colonia Dublan, to be exact.  I never lived there, but grew up referring to the farm as "down home".  

She was a wonderful lady. A true matriarch.  She (and my mom - the oldest of the brood with 10 brothers and 2 sisters) would joke that, to the brothers, pie came in round pieces.  On that visit, I questioned her and listened to her stories  as I had never done before.

This visit was when she told me that her beloved Charlie's (Grandpa) favorite cake was jam cake, especially blackberry jam cake.  I always envisioned it as yellow cake with jam spread between the layers.  Then she made one.

My vision was wrong.

Hers was so right.  It was a dense, moist, spicy cake. She didn't frost it, just glazed it, and served it with whipped cream.  Yum.  I didn't get the recipe.  This is the closest I have come.  It's just as I remember it.  I didn't have blackberry jam - it's the end of February, we have already eaten the blackberry - so I used plum.  I think you could use whatever jam you want, just vary the glaze.  I made a lemon glaze with this cake, but a vanilla glaze would be great with strawberry.

Here you go.

I also didn't have any buttermilk and didn't want to go to the store.  It is really easy to make, though.  Just put 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup.  Fill the measure to 1 cup with milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes and use as buttermilk.  Easy.

Jam Cake

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup jam (whatever kind you want)

3 eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan.

Cream butter and sugar.

Add the eggs and jam and mix it up.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk to the jam combo.

Mix it up.

Spread into the prepared cake pan, it will be thick.

Bake at 350 for about 55 - 65 minutes.

Invert the cake onto a cake dish.  Let the cake cool slightly.  Poke it all over with a toothpick.  Pour the glaze slowly over the cake, letting it absorb into all the toothpick holes.

Serve with whipped cream if you want.

Lemon Glaze

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup powdered sugar

Combine the 2 ingredients.  Don't worry if it is lumpy.  Stir it up and let it sit.  Stir it again.  The lumps will go away.