The Easy Southern Cake I Make for the Holidays

Over the years, my grandmother had a few things she whipped up every single Christmas. She always, always made fudge, a coconut cake for my grandfather, and jam cake. While she used the same recipes to make the fudge and coconut cake, she was notorious for trying a new jam cake recipe every year. And while we tended to like all of them, she was never satisfied.

I think my grandmother was picky about her jam cake because it reminded her of her childhood. She grew up in a cabin in Kentucky, the birthplace of the dessert (it’s often referred to as “Kentucky jam cake”). It’s so-named for the jam stirred right into the cake batter, most often blackberry. 

For the uninitiated, it can seem like a strange combination. A spice cake is spiked with jam, either prepared as a layer cake or a bundt cake, and slathered with caramel frosting. Just trust me when I tell you it is delicious.

Most recipes you’ll find are in old church and community cookbooks. I found at least three jam cake recipes stuffed in my grandmother’s recipe box, knowing full well she wasn’t that pleased with any of them.

A Much Easier Take on the Classic

Most jam cakes start with a homemade cake base with jam added. The frosting is often a boiled caramel icing, which is delicious but also easy to mess up. No one wants to do all of that work and end up with a grainy, oily mess.

I set out to make the ultimate easy version of Kentucky jam cake. I naturally swapped the homemade cake for a boxed spice cake mix, saving lots of measuring and mess. I also baked it in a 9x13, so there is no precarious stacking required. Instead of fully stirring the jam into the cake mix, which can make it gummy, I swirled it in. I love that you get little pockets of sweet-tart jam.

For the frosting, I took a very delicious shortcut: store-bought dulce de leche. With rich caramel flavor and an indulgent creaminess, all you need to add is a bit of butter, salt, and powdered sugar for a knock-out frosting that takes about five minutes to make.

This cake tastes like Christmas to me, and I feel pretty certain my grandmother would have loved it, even if it’s not the most authentic. It has all of the flavors she’d look for in a jam cake with a fraction of the effort.

2 Quick Tips

• Be gentle and sparse when swirling the jam or it all sinks to the bottom. It’ll still taste great if you go overboard.
• The frosting is soft—easy to spread and creamy, but it doesn’t make for super neat slices. It will set up some in the fridge, so if you’d like neat slices, I recommend chilling for 30 minutes to an hour before cutting.

More Holiday-Worthy Cakes

• Coconut Pound Cake
• Tres Leche Cake
• Sock It to Me Cake