Time Period: 1800-1869
Is the story of Granny Kellett, her jam cake recipe, and her Civil War beau particularly indicative of American baking culture? Maybe in a folklore kind of way, sure. I'll spare you the particulars of the Kellett family, but this cake has all the hallmarks of old-fashioned Southern matriarchs: You can practically picture kids picking the wild blackberries from fields behind the house, and a steaming kitchen with jars full of jam. If there's any cake that would fit right in at a candlelit holiday dinner, this would be the one.
This is a Kentucky cake through and through. From the blackberry jam to the chopped nuts, the pungent spices to the drizzle of caramel, this cake was made for a bluegrass summer. Though putting jam into spice cakes is not an American invention, Kentucky has taken to it more than any other place, with one particular business (the Heitzman Bakery in Louisville) shipping them out since 1891.
Curiously, though there is a full jar of jam in this recipe, we couldn't really taste it. The spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspce, and ginger) are the dominant flavor, with the caramel icing adding a sharp blast of sweetness. Perhaps the jam is more of a moistening agent than a flavor delivery system. It was a very tasty cake, but it's a shame not to highlight the fruit, so if I ever make this one again, I'll probably replace or spike the caramel with some added blackberries.
Read more »
Is the story of Granny Kellett, her jam cake recipe, and her Civil War beau particularly indicative of American baking culture? Maybe in a folklore kind of way, sure. I'll spare you the particulars of the Kellett family, but this cake has all the hallmarks of old-fashioned Southern matriarchs: You can practically picture kids picking the wild blackberries from fields behind the house, and a steaming kitchen with jars full of jam. If there's any cake that would fit right in at a candlelit holiday dinner, this would be the one.
This is a Kentucky cake through and through. From the blackberry jam to the chopped nuts, the pungent spices to the drizzle of caramel, this cake was made for a bluegrass summer. Though putting jam into spice cakes is not an American invention, Kentucky has taken to it more than any other place, with one particular business (the Heitzman Bakery in Louisville) shipping them out since 1891.
Curiously, though there is a full jar of jam in this recipe, we couldn't really taste it. The spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspce, and ginger) are the dominant flavor, with the caramel icing adding a sharp blast of sweetness. Perhaps the jam is more of a moistening agent than a flavor delivery system. It was a very tasty cake, but it's a shame not to highlight the fruit, so if I ever make this one again, I'll probably replace or spike the caramel with some added blackberries.
Posts
