Ingredients
- Caramel Icing:
- 3 eggs, separated
- 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup seedless blackberry jam
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan, a 10-inch Bundt pan, or three 9-inch cake pans.
Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat to stiff peaks using an electric mixer.
In a separate large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks, jam and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the jam mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add the egg whites and fold in with a rubber spatula. Fold in the nuts.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes for the layers and 60-80 minutes for a 10-inhc cake. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Turn the cake out onto the rack and cool completely.
To make the icing, melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Add the milk and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and with an electric mixer on medium, beat in enough confectioners’ sugar to make the icing thick enough to spread.
Frost the top and sides of the cake with the caramel icing. (If making a layer cake, use the icing between the layers and on the top and sides.)