Aunt Tootsie's Mississippi Jam Cake!

This jam cake is a bit different from the Kentucky Jam Cake, that I have posted before and we make here in Kentucky usually.  However, it is equally as good!  When I post the Kentucky Jam Cake, someone usually asks about this type of jam cake also, because that is the one they remember.  The main difference is in the icing.  The Kentucky Jam Cake always has caramel icing.  This one also has a few less ingredients.

The is  my Aunt Tootsie's recipe.  She lives in the deep south, in southern Mississippi to be exact.  For those who didn't read the post for her Mississippi Fruit Cake,  Aunt Tootsie is my father's sister.  I have posted many recipes from my mother's sisters and there are so many of them, they have a lot of recipes to use.  I am blessed in the auntie department and I have always been so grateful for them.  You can learn so much from spending time with family and the older you get, the more you value their insight and knowledge.  As soon, as I posted the Fruit Cake, Aunt Tootsie had this recipe in the mail, which was so sweet of her!  That is just the kind of family I have been blessed with on both sides!

This is a wonderful, moist fruit cake and even though I am partial to caramel icing on anything, which is on the Kentucky Jam Cake, this icing is absolutely delicious also.  It would be good on anything also.  Another good thing about this jam cake is that it just uses blackberry jam, so you don't have to buy so many different jams.

Here is what you will need for this cake:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 Tbs. allspice

1/2 Tbs.. cinnamon

1/2 Tbs. cocoa

1 cup blackberry jam (seedless works best)

1/2 cup raisins

Cooked Icing

1  1/2 cups Sugar

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup butter

1 Tbs. white corn syrup

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 (8 oz.) can of crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cream sugar and butter together in a large mixing bowl.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.   

In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa and spices together.   Gradually add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk and mix until all is incorporated.  Mix in jam and raisins.

Line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment or was paper.  Spray the pans and the paper liberally with nonstick baking spray.  I prefer Baker's Joy for this.   Divide the batter equally between the two pans.  Place in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  To test, place a pick in the center and if it comes out clean, they are done.  

Remove and allow to cool while you prepare the icing.

To prepare the icing, combine the sugar, milk, butter and syrup in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.   Cook until it reaches the soft ball stage  (240 degrees Fahrenheit or 116 Celsius).   You need to stir this while it gets to this temperature.   Once it reaches the right temperature, remove from heat and stir in coconut, pineapple, raisins, and nuts. 

Turn the cakes out onto a cake plate and spread icing between the layers and on top, allowing it to just run down the sides.  

Aunt Tootsie's Mississippi Jam Cake!





Kentucky Jam Cake with Caramel Icing!

Jam cake is just synonymous with Christmas for most of us who grew up in Kentucky and I am sure in many of the other southeastern states.  My mother used to make one every year in the week or so before Christmas. 

 It was always a special cake that I looked forward to, but it really wasn't as much the cake I loved, but the caramel icing.  Caramel icing is just the best thing you ever put in your mouth.   This cake only gets made at Christmas by most folks as far as I know and if you have ever made one, you know why.

This particular jam cake recipe came from my sister-in-law and she got it from her sister-in-law. I don't know how old the recipe is, but I know it's been around for many, many years.  It's the best jam cake recipe I have ever eaten. 

 It is a really moist cake and it just seems to get moister each day as long as you keep it wrapped tightly.  It does have quite a few ingredients, so here is what you will need:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, separated  (the beaten whites go in last)

2  1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 jar prune baby food

1 cup blackberry jam

1/2 cup strawberry jam

1/2 cup pineapple jam

1/2 cup cherry preserves

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and shortening together.  Add in sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks. 

 Place egg whites in a separate bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.  You fold these in at the end.  Sift together the flour, soda and salt. 

Mix in all of the jams, the prune baby food and the seasonings. 

Alternately mix in the flour and buttermilk.  Don't over mix, just basically incorporate it all.  Stir in the chopped pecans. Finally fold in the beaten egg whites. 

Prepare 3 nine inch cake pans by lining them with parchment or wax paper.  Spray the insides well with nonstick cooking spray.  This cake has a tendency to stick because of all of the jam in it, so be sure to line the pans and don't skip that step.

Evenly distribute the batter between the pans and shake the pans around to get any air out. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.  Remove and cool completely before icing. 

Caramel Icing

1/2 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup cream ( I used half and half and it worked fine)

1/4/ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 lb. of powdered sugar

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan on the stove and dissolve brown sugar in it.  Add the cream and salt.  Bring up to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and beat in the sugar and the vanilla. You need to use an electric mixer for this.  If it seems too thick add 1 Tbs. cream at a time until it's where you want it.

Immediately stack and frost cake.  You have to move fast, because this icing will start to thicken.  It's best if you keep it on some low heat or in a pan of hot water as you work with it.  If it starts to get too thick to work with heat it a little and add a dash of cream.