Good Old Fashioned Jam Cake Recipes

OLD-FASHIONED JAM CAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine raisins and pineapple; let stand for at least 30 minutes. , In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with jam and buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in raisin mixture and nuts. , Spread into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For icing, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in sugar and milk. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; cool until just warm. Pour into a large bowl; beat in enough confectioners' sugar to achieve a spreading consistency. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake.

100-YEAR OLD JAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour four 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans, or line them with parchment paper. Combine buttermilk and baking soda; set aside. Sift together flour, salt, and spices; set aside. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each addition. To the butter mixture, add half the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add half the buttermilk mixture and mix until combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix; then add the rest of the buttermilk and mix. Scrape the bowl and mix well. Add raisins, nuts, and jam; mix well. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Place pans on wire racks to cool.

OLD FASHIONED JAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
• To prepare the cake, sift the flour and spices into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar. Using a mixer at medium speed, beat the butter, jams, eggs, milk, and vanilla until smooth, 2 minutes. Stir in the nuts, if desired.
• Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove the layers from the pans to cool completely on a wire rack.
• To prepare the icing, combine the brown sugar, milk, butter, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the confectioners' sugar. If the icing is too thick, add a little milk. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread over one cake layer. Top with second layer; ice top. Top with third layer, ice top.

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.

OLD-FASHIONED STRAWBERRY JAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.
• Mix sugar, pecans, strawberry jam, butter, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Mix baking soda into buttermilk; add to the batter. Add flour a little at a time, mixing well, until combined.
• Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool, about 30 minutes.
• While cakes cool, beat sugar and butter for filling together in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add heavy cream, raisins, and pecans. Transfer to a pot and bring to a boil. Do not stir once syrup begins to boil. Heat to 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from water and placed on a flat surface.
• Spread between and over the top of the cooled cake layers, letting excess drip down the sides.