Georgias Tennessee Jam Cake Food

GEORGIA'S TENNESSEE JAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each one is blended in. Dissolve the baking soda in the water; stir into the batter along with the blackberry jam. Combine the flour, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt; stir into the batter by hand, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the black walnuts and raisins if using. Divide the batter equally between the three pans, and spread in an even layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the cakes spring back when lightly touched, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pans until cool enough to handle, then invert the cakes over a wire rack and remove pans to cool completely.

GRANDMA'S JAM CAKE

Steps:

• Cake:.
• In the original recipe, my grandmother starts out by insisting that this be mixed BY HAND with a wooden spoon for 500 strokes. The mixer works fine. The original recipe was written for half lard and half butter (fresh churned), but in the letter my grandmother mentioned that she had started using shortening instead of the lard.
• Cream shortening and sugars.
• Add eggs, jam, and vanilla. Mix well.
• Sift all dry ingredients and add to the creamed sugar mixture. Mix well.
• Add buttermilk and nuts and mix by hand.
• This makes 3 round layers of a 8 or 9 inch layer cake. Bake 350 for 30 minutes or until done. Allow layers to cool before frosting.
• Icing:.
• For the frosting, my grandmother's original instructions called for using the leftover coffee that had been sitting on the stove all day keeping warm. I find that making up a cup of coffee with espresso powder works well. You do want a strong mocha flavor for the icing.
• Mix all the icing ingredients using a mixer. It will be a stiff icing.
• Making layer cakes must have been common back in the early 50s, because my grandmother didn't even bother to write down instructions for making icing or assembling the cake. She just listed the ingredients and how to make stong coffee. Needless to say, assemble like any other layer cake.

TENNESSEE JAM CAKE (VEGAN)

Steps:

• Cream together sugar and margarine.
• Add jam, vanilla, soy yogurt, and egg replacer mixed with water. Mix well.
• In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and spices.
• Add thus to sugar mixture alternately with soy buttermilk and stir well.
• Pour into greased and floured 9" pans, bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
• I usually frost this with a coconut-pecan frosting, which is just caramelized sugar and margarine mixed with shredded coconut, chopped pecans, and powdered sugar.

TRIPLE-LAYER TENNESSEE JAM CAKE

Steps:

• Beat the first 6 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and beat at medium speed 2 more minutes until well blended, scraping down sides if needed. Pour batter evenly into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
• Bake at 350 for 20-23 minutes or until cakes are light brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.
• Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
• Place on layer on a serving platter. Spread with 1/2 of blackberry jam, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spread a smooth, thin layer of warm Quick Caramel Frosting over jam. Repeat layers. Top with third cake layer. Spread top and sides of cake with remaining Quick Caramel Frosting, working quickly before the frosting hardens. (If frosting becomes too hard to spread, place it over low heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.) Let cake stand 10 minutes.
• Quick Caramel Frosting:.
• Bring first 3 ingredients to boil in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Use immediately.