It's that time again when I put on my thinking cap and try and be a little creative - who am I kidding, I'm always creative - it's just time for me to reinvent ye-old-recipe provided by Burwell General Store.
If you haven't click the link before ... I'm telling you 'Eat the Wagon Wheel' ... jokes (but if you're not Australian you probably don't get the joke) ... 'Click the link' - seriously the people involved in this blogging extravaganza are AMAZING!
So ... about a month ago, Christina sent through the recipe for Jelly Cake. Being Australian I initial thought of childhood memories and the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake cookbook - if you're Australian and were a child in the 80's then I am sure you are familiar with the 'Pool Birthday Cake' ... My Mum made me an AWESOME pool birthday cake with Whiney the Pool figurines.
But upon reading the actual recipe for the jelly cake, I found that I had been lost in translation... jelly was in fact jam. To me jelly is jelly - not JAM. So for the point of this post, if you are American here are my definitions of the following:
JAM - Properly, the term jam refers to a product made with whole fruit, cut into pieces or crushed. The fruit is heated with water and sugar to activate the pectin in the fruit. You would eat jam on toast or make a peanut butter and jam sandwich.
JELLY - Jelly is strained, so it's clear (jelly is also wobbly stuff made with gelatine). Jelly is a desert and when we were little my Mum would make us 'frogs in a pond' which was basically green or blue Aeroplane jelly with a freddo frog stuck into it when it was half set so it would sit up and 'pop out of the water'... 'I love Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me!' find out more about Aeroplane Jelly here
JELLO - So I think Americans call 'Jelly' - 'Jello'. But I would deem jello as that gross stuff that you get in hospital if you are struggling to eat solid food.
Ok - so I was thinking jam. And I realised that I still had a jar of jam that Karin's husband had created for me and even guest posted on 'Fig, Shiraz & Cocoa Jam'. And so I based my cake around using this as my key ingredient.
JAM CAKE
190 grams butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup cornflour
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cups of milk
6 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
4 tablespoons of Fig, Shiraz & Cocoa Jam
Preheat oven to 150 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf cake tin.
Sift flour, cornflour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt three times.
Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add half the milk (as it helps to dissolve the sugar). Add flour mixture and fold to combine. Fold in beaten egg whites and remaining milk until smooth.
Pour half of the mixture into the tin. Top with jam and then cover with the remaining mixture.
Bake for 70 - 80 minutes. Remove from the oven, cake is cooked when it springs back.
If you haven't click the link before ... I'm telling you 'Eat the Wagon Wheel' ... jokes (but if you're not Australian you probably don't get the joke) ... 'Click the link' - seriously the people involved in this blogging extravaganza are AMAZING!So ... about a month ago, Christina sent through the recipe for Jelly Cake. Being Australian I initial thought of childhood memories and the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake cookbook - if you're Australian and were a child in the 80's then I am sure you are familiar with the 'Pool Birthday Cake' ... My Mum made me an AWESOME pool birthday cake with Whiney the Pool figurines.
But upon reading the actual recipe for the jelly cake, I found that I had been lost in translation... jelly was in fact jam. To me jelly is jelly - not JAM. So for the point of this post, if you are American here are my definitions of the following:
JAM - Properly, the term jam refers to a product made with whole fruit, cut into pieces or crushed. The fruit is heated with water and sugar to activate the pectin in the fruit. You would eat jam on toast or make a peanut butter and jam sandwich.
JELLY - Jelly is strained, so it's clear (jelly is also wobbly stuff made with gelatine). Jelly is a desert and when we were little my Mum would make us 'frogs in a pond' which was basically green or blue Aeroplane jelly with a freddo frog stuck into it when it was half set so it would sit up and 'pop out of the water'... 'I love Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me!' find out more about Aeroplane Jelly here
JELLO - So I think Americans call 'Jelly' - 'Jello'. But I would deem jello as that gross stuff that you get in hospital if you are struggling to eat solid food.Ok - so I was thinking jam. And I realised that I still had a jar of jam that Karin's husband had created for me and even guest posted on 'Fig, Shiraz & Cocoa Jam'. And so I based my cake around using this as my key ingredient.
JAM CAKE
190 grams butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup cornflour
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cups of milk
6 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
4 tablespoons of Fig, Shiraz & Cocoa Jam
Sift flour, cornflour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt three times.
Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add half the milk (as it helps to dissolve the sugar). Add flour mixture and fold to combine. Fold in beaten egg whites and remaining milk until smooth.
Pour half of the mixture into the tin. Top with jam and then cover with the remaining mixture.
Bake for 70 - 80 minutes. Remove from the oven, cake is cooked when it springs back.
OMG that cake looks fantastic! I have no idea how you managed to bake it so perfectly but I love it!
ReplyDeletei love this re-interpretation of the jelly cake for this month's recipe swap! this cake sounds wonderful with breakfast, afternoon tea, or just to sneak slices from the kitchen anytime :)
ReplyDeleteand that fig, shiraz and cocoa jam sounds out of this world! i need to find some figs and make that asap!
Fig, shiraz and cocoa jam? I am floored! I used fig jam in my rendition but it was nowhere near as interesting as that.
ReplyDeleteAlso, most of the jelly around America is gross. So, jam is the automatic replacement in my brain. It's just tastier!
Fig, shiraz and cocoa jam? Say, where would I get some of that? What a great jam to use! Shari, as always, I'm delighted to see your participation in the recipe swap, and am looking forward to more posts of yours!
ReplyDeleteI really like the corn flour aspect of the cake...and fig jam! Yum! Thank you for the Australian translation of jam vs. jelly...I didn't know that!
ReplyDeleteHi Shari! To be candid I've never thought of putting jam in cake until this recipe swap. I was delighted to read your recipe of actually doing it and how to! This would be delicious I think especially with adding the cocoa powder to the flour. Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteLove all the information!!! And what a scrumptious looking cake - and jam!
ReplyDeleteFig and Chocolate?? Yum! This makes me want to recreate that jam. Nice Recipe Swap!
ReplyDeletewhat an outstanding entry in this months swap, that jam sounds like such a taste sensation, I can only imagine how delicious that cake was!
ReplyDelete