Cast Iron Cooking For Dummies
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This recipe for Jam Cake with Old-Time Icing was handed down from generation to generation (as so many cast-iron recipes are). The ingredient list calls for blackberry jam, but you can use whatever flavor you have on hand. The icing (recipe below) uses whole milk and butter, which creates a subtly rich finish for the cake.

To make this jam cake, you need three 10-inch, cast-iron skillets.

Heirloom Jam Cake

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

6 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cloves

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 teaspoons allspice

3 tablespoons cocoa

2 cups jam, usually blackberry

1 cup raisins

  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

  2. Line two 10-inch cast-iron skillets with wax paper.

    The jam can make the cake stick, so the wax paper makes removal easier.

  3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.

  4. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a small bowl.

    You can discard the whites or save them to make an egg-white omelette.

  5. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, to the butter mixture, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

  6. In another small bowl, mix the buttermilk and baking soda. Let stand for 3 minutes.

  7. To the butter mixture, add the flour alternately with the buttermilk mixture.

    Mix thoroughly after each addition.

  8. Add the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cocoa, jam, and raisins. Mix well.

  9. Divide the batter evenly into two skillets and bake at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes.

  10. Remove the skillets from the oven, and immediately remove the cakes from the skillets. Let cool for 1 hour.

  11. Transfer one of the cakes to a serving platter and spread the icing on top of the cake.

  12. Place the second cake on top of the first. Spread the remaining icing on the top and sides of the layered cake.

Garnish with fresh berries and sprigs of fresh mint.

Old-Time Icing for Jam Cake

2 cups milk

1 cup butter

4 cups sugar

1/8 teaspoons baking soda

  1. Combine the milk, butter, sugar, and baking soda in a deep cast-iron skillet.

  2. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until mixture reaches the hardball stage on a candy thermometer (250 to 265 degrees F).

    At this point the mixture will form thick threads from the spoon and form a hard ball when dropped into cold water.

Per serving: Calories 1,167 (From fat 300); Fat 33g (Saturated 20g); Cholesterol 210mg; Sodium 379mg; Carbohydrate 212g (Dietary fiber 4g); Protein 10g.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Tracy Barr is the coauthor of Adoption For Dummies and Latin For Dummies. Lodge Manufacturing is America's oldest family-owned cookware manufacturer and the sole domestic cast-iron cookware foundry.

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