Homer Henderson Pierson and Martha Allie Pierson on the front porch of their home in Braxton County, West Virginia.This recipe has an old pedigree, it comes from my Grandmother Ruth Barbara Pierson Johnson Decker from her mother Martha Allie Pierson (went by Allie) who passed away in the late 1940s, so it was perfected decades ago. The photographs of Allie correspond with my mother's memories, not a happy-friendly type of grandmother, slightly serious and dour. Mean? The cake recipe says otherwise, as it is a masterpiece of brightness and spring.
The finished cake, decorated with flowers for spring. I painted the bunny with my grandmother when I was younger and staying at her house. I think she did most of it, but I must claim responsibility for the pink eye that give it a slightly evil look.Many recipes utilize jam as a filling between layers of sponge, but this one combines it in the batter along with spices that yield an incredibly moist and delicious crumb. My grandmother said one of her sister-in-laws or cousins or someone made it with store bought jam, a derision aimed at the fact the culprit possessed store bought jam to use rather than any marked difference in the cake. As the recipe states, you can use a combination of the leftover jams from jars in the fridge or a single flavor of your choice. Store bought or homemade, I recommend blackberry.
There was no recipe for an icing, but Grandma mentioned something with brown sugar. I did a little research and found one utilizing both brown sugar (to complement the spices in the cake) and orange juice concentrate (to complement the fruitiness of the jam), and it is perfection.
Recipe: Great-Grandma Pierson’s Jam Cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup jam (any flavor, or mixed scraps)
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
In a small bowl, sift dry ingredients together. Place jam in a medium-sized measuring cup and slowly add buttermilk, stirring together. In a big yellow bowl, beat sugar and butter together until creamy and light. Add eggs one at a time, beating with each addition.
Alternate mixing in dry ingredients with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter between two pans, bake for 45 minutes or until tester come out clean (the top of the cake will remain fairly moist)
Cool in pans for ten minutes then remove and cool completely. Frost with caramel frosting. You can also put a layer of jam between the cakes, if you like.
Recipe: Orange-scented Brown-sugar frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup (scant) at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange juice concentrate and vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Mangez! (and Happy Spring!)
Recipe: Great-Grandma Pierson’s Jam Cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup jam (any flavor, or mixed scraps)
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
In a small bowl, sift dry ingredients together. Place jam in a medium-sized measuring cup and slowly add buttermilk, stirring together. In a big yellow bowl, beat sugar and butter together until creamy and light. Add eggs one at a time, beating with each addition.
Alternate mixing in dry ingredients with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter between two pans, bake for 45 minutes or until tester come out clean (the top of the cake will remain fairly moist)
Cool in pans for ten minutes then remove and cool completely. Frost with caramel frosting. You can also put a layer of jam between the cakes, if you like.
Recipe: Orange-scented Brown-sugar frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup (scant) at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange juice concentrate and vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Mangez! (and Happy Spring!)