Grandma’s Recipes – Spiced Jam Cake

This recipe popped up twice in my grandmother’s recipe box, so I knew I had to try it out! 🙂 The first copy of this recipe I tried was handwritten down on a loose, pink-stained scrap of paper. I don’t know if I did something wrong or if an ingredient was missing (I think an ingredient was missing!), but the first cake I made came out flat and gummy! Not appetizing at all!

I decided to try again with the second recipe. When I compared the two, I realized that the handwritten recipe was missing any kind of leavening agent! I had assumed the eggs would help the cake rise in the first recipe, but the second recipe had eggs and baking soda. The second recipe came out much better as you can see! Which just goes to show that our ancestors made mistakes too and how important it is to write down a recipe carefully for those who might try it after us 🙂

I went ahead and halved all the ingredients in the recipe that you will find below. If you want to make a two layer cake instead of a single layer as I did, this recipe easily doubles. I brushed a little warm jam and water on the cake when it was done to give it a little glaze. Any jam you have on hand will do. I used strawberry.