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Nanny Bond's Blackberry Jam Cake With Golden Divinity Frosting
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SOUTHERN RECIPE RESTORATION PROJECT
The contributor: Jeanne Bond Knox, who recently returned to the Tucker area with her husband, Grant, after living in Memphis and Snellville.
The story: "My grandparents, Johnny and Reba Bond, were from the Toccoa and Cornelia area. They raised their two sons in a brick bungalow in the Oakhurst/Decatur area during the Depression."
"Nanny Bond was the ultimate Southern cook. ... We always looked forward to Christmas and Nanny's jam cake. If we did not get to eat the jam cake before Christmas, we always had it at New Year's Day dinner at their house."
Hands on time: 50 minutes Total time: 2 hours and 30 minutes Serves: 16
Ingredients:
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Nanny Bond's Blackberry Jam Cake With Golden Divinity Frosting
For the cake:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate (about 2/3 cup chocolate chips)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs, separated (for cake and frosting)
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup blackberry jam
1/2 cup chopped black walnuts
1 cup raisins
2 egg whites
For the frosting:
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
4 egg whites
Instructions:
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch pans (or butter, line the bottoms with parchment paper, then butter again). Set aside. In the microwave at 50 percent power or over low heat on the stove, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, gradually adding the sugar, until fluffy. Add the yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the melted chocolate.
Remove 2 tablespoons flour and set aside in a small bowl. To remaining flour, stir in the salt and soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Stir until combined after each addition. Stir in the jam. Toss walnuts and raisins in reserved flour and fold into batter.
In a separate bowl, beat 2 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cake batter. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks and cool completely.
For the frosting:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups sugar and the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clear. Cook without stirring to soft ball stage (240 degrees).
In the meantime, in a separate saucepan, cook remaining 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat until it melts and turns a light golden brown. Add to the clear syrup.
In the meantime, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. When the syrup reaches the soft ball stage, with your hand mixer running, pour the syrup in a steady stream over the egg whites, beating in the syrup as you go. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and the frosting is thick enough to spread.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch pans (or butter, line the bottoms with parchment paper, then butter again). Set aside. In the microwave at 50 percent power or over low heat on the stove, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, gradually adding the sugar, until fluffy. Add the yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the melted chocolate.
Remove 2 tablespoons flour and set aside in a small bowl. To remaining flour, stir in the salt and soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Stir until combined after each addition. Stir in the jam. Toss walnuts and raisins in reserved flour and fold into batter.
In a separate bowl, beat 2 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cake batter. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks and cool completely.
For the frosting:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups sugar and the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clear. Cook without stirring to soft ball stage (240 degrees).
In the meantime, in a separate saucepan, cook remaining 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat until it melts and turns a light golden brown. Add to the clear syrup.
In the meantime, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. When the syrup reaches the soft ball stage, with your hand mixer running, pour the syrup in a steady stream over the egg whites, beating in the syrup as you go. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and the frosting is thick enough to spread.
Notes:
"This unusual cake has a subtle flavor --- a little chocolate, a little jam, a little black walnut, " noted tester Deborah Geering, who tried Sonya Jones' reconstruction of Jeanne Bond Knox's grandmother's recipe. "Your guests won't quite be able to put their finger on it, but they will love it."
Cupcake variation: Jones also got great results by baking the batter in cupcake tins. Reduce baking time to about 25 minutes. One recipe yielded 2 dozen cupcakes.
Sonya Jones thought the golden tinge and subtle caramel flavor of this variation on a seven-minute frosting provided the perfect complement to the jam cake. The frosting hardens as it ages and it still tastes good when it crisps up. But it is best to use it the day you plan to serve it, if possible.
Deborah Geering added this note: "Italian meringues such as this one are easier to make with a hand mixer than a stand mixer. If you have to use a stand mixer, when incorporating the syrup, pour a little into the egg whites, beat, then turn off the mixer again and add a little more syrup. Repeat until all the syrup is incorporated [if you try to pour the syrup into a running stand mixer, you'll end up simply splattering the syrup along the inside of the mixing bowl]."
Cupcake variation: Jones also got great results by baking the batter in cupcake tins. Reduce baking time to about 25 minutes. One recipe yielded 2 dozen cupcakes.
Sonya Jones thought the golden tinge and subtle caramel flavor of this variation on a seven-minute frosting provided the perfect complement to the jam cake. The frosting hardens as it ages and it still tastes good when it crisps up. But it is best to use it the day you plan to serve it, if possible.
Deborah Geering added this note: "Italian meringues such as this one are easier to make with a hand mixer than a stand mixer. If you have to use a stand mixer, when incorporating the syrup, pour a little into the egg whites, beat, then turn off the mixer again and add a little more syrup. Repeat until all the syrup is incorporated [if you try to pour the syrup into a running stand mixer, you'll end up simply splattering the syrup along the inside of the mixing bowl]."
Nutrition:
Per serving (cake without frosting): 372 calories (percent of calories from fat, 29), 6 grams protein, 63 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 12 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 96 milligrams cholesterol, 249 milligrams sodium.
Per serving of frosting: 128 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), 1 gram protein, 31 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, 14 milligrams sodium.
Per serving of frosting: 128 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), 1 gram protein, 31 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, 14 milligrams sodium.
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