Favourite Jam Cake with Caramel Icing

Jam cake with caramel icing is Appalachian and Southern baking at its most generous: a tender, spice-warmed cake layered with real cooked caramel frosting, not a buttercream pretender. The blackberry jam in the batter is the move that defines it, contributing dense fruity moisture and a faint floral note that plays against the cinnamon and allspice.

Buttermilk dissolved with baking soda is the leavening shortcut here. The acid in the buttermilk reacts immediately with the soda, so the batter starts rising the moment they meet. Pour it into the pans without delay or you’ll lose lift.

The icing is a true cooked caramel: cream, butter, and brown sugar boiled until a spoonful dropped in cold water forms a soft ball, the candy-making term for around 235°F (113°C). Beating it as it cools turns the syrup opaque and spreadable. Skip a candy thermometer and you can still nail it by checking the cold-water test every minute or two.

Three layers, generously frosted between and around. This is a cake for birthdays and holidays, not Tuesday.

Pro Tips

• Use seedless blackberry jam if you can find it, otherwise strain regular jam through a sieve to remove seeds.
• Pour the buttermilk-soda mixture into the batter quickly. The reaction starts at first contact and you want the lift in the cake, not the bowl.
• Beat the caramel icing until it just barely loses its glossy sheen. Wait too long and it sets hard before you can spread it.
• Let layers cool completely before icing. Warm cake melts the caramel into a soupy mess.

Variations

• Sub raspberry or strawberry jam for blackberry for different fruit flavors.
• Add 1 cup of chopped pecans to the batter for a Southern-style nut cake.
• Top with toasted coconut after icing for added texture and visual interest.