Recipe: Blackberry Jam Cake with Carmel Icing and Mrs. Fenady's Kentucky Jam Cake with Praline Icing

BLACKBERRY JAM CAKE

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 large eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 cup seedless blackberry jam or preserves
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Carmel Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a (9x9x2-inch) baking pan.

Cream together sugar and butter. Beat in eggs; set aside.

Stir together flour, baking soda and spices. Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.

Fold in blackberry jam and nuts leaving swirls of jam. (DO NOT OVERMIX). Turn into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degree F for 25 minutes or until done. Cool completely.

Frost with Carmel Icing.

CARMEL ICING

2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until mixtures bubbles. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

From: Carrie, CA - 09-26-97

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MRS. FENADY'S KENTUCKY JAM CAKE

1 3/4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup oil, plus extra for greasing pans
1 cup seedless blackberry jam
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, plus extra for garnish, optional
Praline Icing (recipe follows)
Chopped pecans (optional, to garnish)

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Repeat sifting two more times. Set aside.

Beat sugar and eggs until creamy. Add buttermilk, oil and jam and beat until sugar dissolves. Add flour mixture and beat well.

Stir in vanilla and pecans. Pour into well-greased pans: two (9x9-inch) pans or one (13x9-inch) pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F until cake springs back when touched in center, about 40 minutes.

Spread Praline Icing over top and sides of cake or cake(s). Sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.

PRALINE ICING

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

Grease sides of 4-quart saucepan with some of the butter. Combine remaining butter, buttermilk, sugar, corn syrup and baking soda in pan and heat to boiling. Boil, stirring constantly, until thermometer reaches 238 degrees F.

Beat with electric mixer 7 minutes.

Makes 2 (9x9-inch) or 1 (13x9-inch) cake(s)