My Favorite Old-Fashioned Blackberry Jam Cake

A really good Jam Cake is absolutely my favorite cake in the world, and has been since I was a kid. I normally do not frost mine, but serve it with a warm caramel sauce. I think the reason for that is until recently I couldn't make caramel frosting. Either way is wonderful. Plan ahead, because this cake is at its best after setting for a day or so.

Around the holidays I might pour a 1/4-1/2 cup of good bourbon over the warm cake while it's still in the pan. That gives it a little character.

Increase the nuts and decrease the raisin, or leave the nuts out, it's okay with me.
Let's get real, how bad could this cake be with 3 sticks of butter, 6 eggs and 2 cups of blackberry jam. Please don't try to make this with low-fat stuff and fake sugar.

My Favorite Old-Fashioned Blackberry Jam Cake
12 servings
print recipe

3 sticks butter, melted
2 cups white sugar (you can use 1 cup white, 1 cup brown, packed)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons allspice
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups blackberry jam
6 eggs
1 cup nuts, chopped (Pecans, English or black walnuts)
2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan.

If you have a stand mixer use it. Melt butter and let cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl combine buttermilk and baking soda. In seperate mixing bowl whisk flour and all the spices together, add cooled butter to buttermilk and soda; add flour mixture to incorporate; add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg; add blackberry jam, nuts and raisins that have been tossed in 1/4 cup of the flour mixture. Beat well.

Scoop batter into prepared tube pan. Smooth top with spatula. Drop pan a couple of times on the counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 1/2 hours, check after 1 hour. Put a pan of hot water under the cake while its baking. Check cake by using a toothpick or clean broom straw. I didn't make that up. Toothpick should come out clean. I guess so should a broom straw.

COOK'S NOTE: I make these into cupcakes and freeze them. Take out what you need, defrost and put frosting on then.