What to CookCake
A Jam-Swirled Brown Butter (Perfect) Cake for Spring
by Posie (Harwood) Brien
• May 1, 2016
• 4 Comments
As someone who liked to draw outside the lines from a young age, I like projects that require you to get a little messy. This cake is just one of those projects.
Instead of requiring precise construction (like a pie crust) or intricate attention to detail (like cake frosting), this recipe actually encourages you to splatter and smudge. The surface of this cake should look like a sugared Jackson Pollock painting. Streaks of berry jam swirled across the surface serve two purposes: They give the cake a stunning appearance and they make every bite jammy and sweet.
This is an old Eagle Brand recipe, but I’ve adapted it significantly: The original recipe has a thin layer of sugar cookie dough pressed into the base of the cake pan; I’ve skipped that part. (Don’t get me wrong, pouring cake batter over cookie dough is a brilliant idea, and I’ll be bringing you a recipe for exactly that in the coming weeks. How’s that for something to look forward to?)
This week, however, called for a quieter sort of indulgence. With a slew of busy days ahead of me, I wanted a simple—but no less special—cake waiting for me after dinner. Instead of full-fledged decadence, I’ve opted for something a little less flashy.
Restraint doesn’t equal less flavor. Condensed milk and brown butter give the cake a very moist crumb, and each tender, buttery bite has a modest, nuanced sweetness (thanks, brown butter) that helps to emphasis the fruit. On that note, I suggest using the best jam or preserves you can find. If you make your own, so much the better. I’ve used a mix of strawberry and raspberry, but any variety will work nicely.
If your jam is on the thicker side, heat it up just slightly so it loosens a little before dolloping it over the cake batter. It will be easier to swirl. And then just have at it with the swirls, make a mess with the jam—it'll look cool regardless of how haphazardly you do it.
- 10 tablespoons butter at room temperature, divided
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup berry jam
What's your favorite straightforwardly delicious cake? Tell us in the comments.
Comments (4)
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I just made this cake today and it is absolutely to-die-for delicious. Very moist and flavorful and extremely easy to throw together last minute if you have the ingredients on hand (which I did!)
holy this looks like heaven
Beautiful cake! Will try this asap. But I guess the name of the painter was meant to be Jackson Pollock.
Beautiful cake! Does it keep well? I would like to take it to a wedding rehearsal dinner. It will need to stay fresh for at least 2 days. Thanks?
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