Kentucky Blackberry Jam Cake is covered in caramel icing. This southern cake is a special dessert any time of year and it is very popular for Christmas.
Blackberry Jam
What makes this cake so special is the Blackberry Jam that’s mixed into the cake batter. It gives the cake a sweet and slightly tangy flavor that is accentuated by the ultra-sweet caramel icing.
In addition to blackberry jam this cake is also flavored with chopped walnuts and lots of spice: cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.
More traditionally, this cake has three layers, but it is much easier to make a 2 layer cake and you need one less cake pan. 🙂
If you like spice cake and you like caramel icing, you will love this cake.
The cake layers are fabulously moist from all the jam added and the spices are so fragrant in every bite.
Kentucky Blackberry Jam Cake Origins
This is a distinctly southern cake that I believe has its roots with German settlers. It is very popular not only in Kentucky, but Tennessee as well.
Recipe Tips
Some Kentucky Jam Cakes use pecans so feel free to use them instead of walnuts.
More Southern Cakes
Kentucky Blackberry Jam Cake
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup blackberry jam
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Caramel Icing
- 10 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- walnuts for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of the bowl in between additions.
- Add the buttermilk, baking soda and jam and beat until incorporated.
- Whisk together flour, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture in batches, beating just until combined. Stir in walnuts.
- Divide batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until they feel firm when pressed down on. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes and then turn them out on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Caramel Icing. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
- Stir milk in and transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Use electric mixer to beat mixture while gradually adding powdered sugar.
- Place bottom cake layer on a cake stand or serving platter. Gradually pour about half the icing on top. You want the icing to have cooled enough so that it all doesn’t run off the sides. Let the icing set up some and then place second layer on top.
- Pour remaining icing on the top layer. Decorate with walnuts if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published October 21, 2018.
Recipe adapted from Nashville Eats
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
This cake was a big hit for Christmas this year. It’s easy to make and a beautiful, tasty delicious end result!
Can I make this with a seedless blackberrry jam? I am unsure if there is a texture difference between seed in & seedless? Thank you
Yes there is difference.My momma told me that I must always use blackberry jam with seeds or it would be dry. Boy was she right. Use the best quality blackberry jam WITH SEEDS. Hope this helps
Nope on the blackberry pie filling but you could use strawberry but it will be a very different cake. Cake freezes well and also keeps well unfrozen for quite some time sealed in a cool tin. Mother put grape juice in hers about 1/3 cup but you can use liquor. I suggest a very sweet grape wine or even a blackberry cordial. Also I make them with Pecans since the hickory nuts mom used to put in them are hard to find now. Mother’s recipe also has molasses and more spice. She made 50 to 100 of them each Christmas for gifts.
I could’ve not been more pleased at how this turned out😊😊
How would it be to use blackberry pie filling instead of the jam?
Can the sponges be baked in advance and frozen to be decorated at a later date? If so how long for?
Thank you
My mother’s Jam cake recipe had a minimum of 9 layers and a few more ingredients. This recipe was from her grandmother. I’m going to try this one, but my mom swears any jam cake recipe worth its salt, had to be 8+ layers.h
Could strawberry jam be used in place of blackberry?
This is a good, dense, old-fashioned cake with an easy to make frosting. I used one recipe to make two smaller cakes (6-7″), split them in half and frosted them with 1 1/2 batches of the frosting. One was used for a 93 year old’s birthday and the other was for a luncheon.
Can I add bourbon to the batter?
My mother made this every Christmas. She made it about 2 weeks ahead and wrapped it uniced, in foil. Every couple of days she’d pour a little bourbon over the layers and then re-wrapped it.
She kept in in a cool, dark place and iced it just before Christmas.
I love this cake, and had it often when growing up in Kentucky.