Blackberries are a juicy staple of summer on many Amish farms this time of year.The beautiful berry finds its way into jams, spreads, salads, and even cakes. So in the spirit of the season, Rachel and I tried to make homemade blackberry cake last night. The recipe comes to me from Union Grove, North Carolina, a rather progressive Amish community and one of the only ones in the Tarheel State. Â The recipe is featured in Amish Cooks Across America. Â While we tested almost every recipe in the book blackberry cake was a late addition and may have had an error in it. Â If I were to bake it again, I'd do it at 350 for about 45 minutes, not 300 for an hour.
Homemade Blackberry Cake
This is a favorite recipe in Amish settlements across Virginia and North Carolina, where wild blackberries are plentiful. This is a very moist cake that tastes great frosted. You’ll want to have the icing cooked and ready to put on the cake as soon as it is done, while both are still warm.  I think if I had to do it over again I also use maybe a caramel frosting instead of glaze, but that is just me.  If there are any recipe detectives out there who want to give the blackberry cake a try, let us know how it turns out!  The above photo is a slice of our cake and it is good, tastes flavorful like a spice cake. Yum!
Cake:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 2 cups blackberry jam
- 1 cup black walnuts
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons baking soda, dissolved in 1 cup buttermilk
- 6 large eggs
- ICING
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan and set aside. Make the cake: Thoroughly mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl until smooth and lump free. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean. During the final 20 minutes of baking, make the icing: Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until thick. Keep warm until ready to use. Remove the cake from the oven and pour the icing over it while both are still hot. Let cool completely before serving.
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Susan Fletcher
Are there any blueberry recipes you can share? Thanks.
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Helen Igou
My grandmother made BlackBerry cake that I dearly loved. She didn't make it very often because she used canned blackberries canned in water and they were hard to find. It wasn't like a spice cake and I called it "dirty" cake because it was gray. And it had caramel icing.
Has anyone ever seen, heard of, or eaten a cake like this? I have scoured the 'net looking for a recipe like that but been unable to find a recipe like that. Anyone??
Kevin
Helen, thanks for this note, I'll post your question more publicly sometime this week and see if anyone responds!