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A subtly spiced cake filled with strawberry jam and frosted with an unforgettable brown sugar buttercream. This rich Jam Cake recipe is melt in your mouth delicious and easy to make.
Love strawberries? Try this strawberry shortcake pound cake then make my stunning strawberry cake with strawberry filling!
This Jam Cake recipe from Toni Tipton-Martin’s Cookbook, Jubilee to celebrate the upcoming Juneteenth holiday! This year, I am celebrating Juneteenth with 18 other Black culinary creators (link can be found at the bottom of the page for a full list this year’s participants). We are honoring 19 Black American cookbook authors by recreating their recipes, amplifying their work, and sharing our connections to Freedom Day.
Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day, the final emancipation of those enslaved in the US announced in 1865. Share these recipes with your family and help us continue the legacy of celebrating progress. Additionally, you can easily follow each participant by using the hashtag #JuneteenthCookout2022 on Instagram.
If you’ve ever been afraid to bake a cake, fret not. This southern-style recipe is so simple (and SO good). It consists of a strawberry jam filling, a really simple but moist two layer cake (which can easily be baked as one layer), and that brown sugar frosting – it had me licking the bowl!
If you love strawberries, you’ve got to try this strawberry bread and these strawberry macarons! You should also give this Red Velvet Bundt Cake a try for your Juneteenth celebrations!
Ingredients
You’ll simply need a few basic pantry staple ingredients.
Flour, baking powder, and salt – to provide life and structure to the cake
Cinnamon, Allspice, Nutmeg – these spices pair perfectly with the jam. It’s a subtle flavor but such a delicious pairing
Eggs – binding agent and to add moisture
Sugar – for sweetness to pair perfectly with the strawberry jam!
Milk – to hydrate the batter and make the cake light and airy
Vanilla Extract – for flavor!
Butter – what’s a recipe without butter?!
Strawberry Jam or Preserves – I love them both so use what you have! This is for the strawberry jam cake filling
How to Make Jam Cake
- Mix together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy, then add sugar, eggs (one at a time), and vanilla extract.
- Alternate adding 1/2 of the dry ingredients and mixing together and then 1/2 adding milk. Add remaining amounts.
- Pour equal amounts of batter into 9 inch baking pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and allow cakes to cool completely on a cooling rack or plate.
Now make the brown sugar buttercream.
- Melt butter in a sauce pan and add brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, until mixture becomes syrupy, almost like caramel.
- Pour into a large mixing bowl and add powdered sugar and whisk until the buttercream thickens and cools – about 5-8 minutes. (TIP: you can use a hand mixer on low heat and as the buttercream cools, you can gradually increase the speed so as to not splatter the buttercream everywhere!)
Once the cake has cooled, place the first layer on a cake stand. Use a piping bag (or ziploc bag) to pipe the buttercream frosting around the perimeter or the cake. Pour the strawberry jam in the middle to make the strawberry cake filling and place the second layer on top.
Ice the cake as per normal and top with fresh strawberries! Enjoy!
Helpful Tools!
There are a couple of tools to make assembling this cake super easy! I recommend using a hand mixer or stand mixer (with the paddle attachment). Also, I recommend using:
- a flat spatula/frosting spatula to assist with icing the cake (you can also use a butter knife)
- 9 inch baking pans
- Piping bags or ziploc bags to pipe the icing on the perimeter or the first layer of the cake
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the flour properly.
Tips
- Measure your flour correctly! Flour scooped right out of the bag can typically be more because the flour is compressed. Fluff up the flour and spoon it into the measuring cup or use a kitchen scale to measure the flour for a more accurate measurement.
- You can also use blackberry jam or even blueberry jam – the options are limitless!
- If you’d like to add nuts, I recommend adding either walnuts or sliced almonds for a nice crunch!
- Ensure butter is at room temperature! This makes sure that the cake’s texture is fluffy and moist. Using cold ingredients can lead to a dense cake.
- PRO Tip: I ALWAYS use nonstick baking spray to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan. It works like a champ every. single. time.
A Love Letter
Jubilee is a celebration of culture and foods and how they intersect in taste, flavor, joy, and love. From the beautiful dishes to delectable baked goods, I’ve made my fair share of recipes from this book, and would be remiss not to celebrate this treasury of food for Juneteenth. This book embodies freedom through culinary expression and is the perfect culmination of recipes to rejoice! Thank you!
More Cake Recipes!
- Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Topping
- Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze
- Almond Cake with Whipped Mascarpone Frosting
- Sweet Potato Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Spiced Pear and Almond Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
- Strawberries and Cream Icebox Cake
Want more delicious and beautiful recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter to receive the latest seasonal creations as soon as they’re released!
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Strawberry Jam Cake
Equipment
- 1 Piping Bag or Ziploc Bag
- Flat Spatula optional
Ingredients
- 3 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- 1 cup Salted Butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup Sugar
- 4 large Eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Strawberry Jam or Preserves
Brown Sugar Buttercream
- 12 tbsps Butter, room temperature
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsps Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9 inch cake pans with nonstick baking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Then add butter and continue to mix until sugar is fully mixed together.
- Add eggs, one at a time (be sure to mix batter for about 2 minutes in between adding eggs). Then add vanilla extract.
- Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients and continue to mix. Then add 1/2 of the milk and remaining dry ingredients and then the last of the milk.
- Pour batter into 9 inch cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until cake is fully baked and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in the cake pan for 5 minutes then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack or plate.
- Make the buttercream. Melt butter in a skillet, then stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-4 minutes, until mixture becomes syrupy. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a tiny pinch of salt. Whisk together until mixture has cooled and thickened.
- Add the bottom layer of the cake to a cake stand. Add 1/3 of the icing to a piping bag or ziploc bag and cut a 1/2 inch slit in the bag. Pipe icing around the perimeter of the bottom layer of the cake. Then spoon in the strawberry jam inside the icing rim.
- Place top layer of cake on top and ice cake as per normal. Top with fresh strawberries and enjoy!
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly! Flour scooped right out of the bag can typically be more because the flour is compressed. Fluff up the flour and spoon it into the measuring cup or use a kitchen scale to measure the flour for a more accurate measurement.
- You can also use blackberry jam or even blueberry jam – the options are limitless!
- If you’d like to add nuts, I recommend adding either walnuts or sliced almonds for a nice crunch!
- Ensure butter is at room temperature! This makes sure that the cake’s texture is fluffy and moist. Using cold ingredients can lead to a dense cake.
- PRO Tip: I ALWAYS use nonstick baking spray to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan. It works like a champ every. single. time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
See the full list of participants for this year’s Juneteenth Collaboration!
Purple and White Potato Salad prepared by Big Delicious Life from the book Sweet Potato Soul
Jam Cake prepared by Britney Breaks Bread from the book Jubilee
Mini Red Velvet Cake by Chenée Today from the book Life Is What You Bake It
Soy Lime Beef Stir Fry by Coined Cuisine from the book Cooking Solo
Pinto Beans with Smoked Neck Bones by Cooks with Soul from the book Bludso’s Bbq Cookbook
Black Pepper Strawberry Slab Pie by Dash of Jazz from the book Watermelon and Red Birds
Buffalo Cheezy Sweet Potato Fries by Flights and Foods from the book Unbelievably Vegan
Grilled Pork Porterhouse Steaks by Food Fidelity from the book Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day
Barbecue Baked Beans with Red Spice by Geo’s Table from the book Son of a Southern Chef
Jamaican Beef Patty by Her Mise En Place from the book My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Spicy Vegetable Relish by Kenneth Temple from the book In Bibi’s Kitchen
Red Velvet Cake with Blackberry Frosting by Lenox Bakery from the book Grandbaby Cakes
Very Strawberry Shortcake by Meiko And The Dish from the book The New Orleans Cook Book
Pig-Pickin’ Cake by My Sweet Precision from the book Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking
Blackberry Peach Crumble Pie by Peaches2Peaches from the book Carla Hall’s Soul Food
African Soul Rice Salad with Crispy Collards by Savor & Sage from the book The Cooking Gene
Grape-Tarragon Spritzer by Sense and Edibility from the book Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora
All-Green Everything Salad w/ Creamy Sage Dressing by That Green Lyfe from the book Vegetable Kingdom
Rum Rum Punch by This Worthey Life from the book The Red Rooster Cookbook
