"Moist and pretty in color when blackberry, currant, or some such jam was used, [jam cake] was a favorite with pioneer women, for it kept well," James Beard wrote in his American Cookery (Little Brown, 1972). The only thing more that might be said about jam cake is that it is delicious.
Ingredients
For the cake
For the frosting
Preparation
Make the cake:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a loaf pan, 9 by 5 by 3 inches. Into a bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, the salt, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, and the cloves. In another bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately in batches with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating well after each addition, and stir in the jam, the raisins, and the pecans. Pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes and turn it out onto the rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
Step 2
In a saucepan combine the brown sugar, the cream, and the butter, cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the side of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water, until it registers 238°F. on a candy thermometer. Transfer the frosting to a bowl and beat it until it is just of spreading consistency. (The frosting will still be warm.)
Step 3
Working quickly, spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
