Blackberry Jam Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
An easy blackberry jam cake is made more beautiful when baked in a bundt pan. Simple ingredients mix together to create a family holiday tradition that is wonderful when served with whipped cream and fresh blackberries.
Blackberry Jam Bundt Cake
This blackberry jam bundt cake is like our Chocolate Spice Cake. Both create a beautiful addition to the dessert table and are packed full of unique, but familiar spice flavoring. The blackberry jam adds more sweetness and a light fruit flavor that is really accented in each bite when served with ripe blackberries.
As we continually look for new recipes to make dessert even more special this blackberry cake fits the bill. I think of it as a companion to our extra special Cranberry Duff Cake or Cran-Apple Spice Bars. It’s good to have multiple options for cakes that are super easy to make, but have a special taste.
I found this recipe in a community cookbook from the 1980’s and the contributor called this “Grandmother’s Holiday Blackberry Cake.” Our family has enjoyed finding the this classic bundt cake recipe. I love that common ingredients can be mixed up in ten minutes to create a unique, but easy homemade cake that we all enjoy. This is the same cookbook where I found our family favorite Scalloped Corn Casserole.
This recipe takes just a little more measuring than using a box mix like in our Black Forest Cherry Bundt Cake or Glazed Rum Bundt Cake, but still very simple to make.
We love unique cakes that feature a fruit or vegetable flavor. Also on that list of special cakes we crave is our Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake, Raspberry Crumb Cake Bars and Pina Colada Cake.
Easy Blackberry Jam Cake Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a bundt pan, tube pan or round cake pans. Using a bundt pan is the easiest and prettiest option for me.
- Using an electric mixer blend softened butter, eggs and sugar together.
- In a seperate bowl mix or sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg together. Slowly blend in with butter and egg mixture.
- Add blackberry jam and buttermilk; blend well.
- Pour into greased pan. Bake bundt or tube pan for 45 – 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Shallow pans will bake more quickly.
- Allow bundt pan to rest for 5 – 10 minutes and then invert onto a plate or serving platter.
Tips for Making Blackberry Cake
- This cake can be made in a bundt pan, 9 x 13 baking pan (decrease baking time) or 3 to 4 round cake pans to make layers – if making a layer cake can spread additional blackberry jelly between the layers
- A basic powdered sugar and milk icing tastes great with this cake, but a batch of cream cheese icing like we use on these Frosted Banana Bars or even a can of store bought icing tastes great too
- I decrease spices by half from the original recipe because I wanted to enjoy more of the sweet blackberry and cake flavors relative to the spices. I like the hints of spices at this level, but feel free to double the spices if you really enjoy old fashioned spice cakes.
- 2 cups of blackberry jam is roughly equal to an 18 ounce jar of jam
- Cake in picture is iced with 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons or milk mixed together
How to Make Blackberry Holiday Cake
Add eggs and softened butter to mixing bowl. Mix well. Then beat in sugar.
Then mix in sugar.
Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, all-spice and slowly add to butter, egg and sugar mixture.
Stir in that beautiful blackberry jam and buttermilk.
After mixing well with the spices the batter will darken a bit in color. Pour into a well greased or greased and floured baking pan.
Bake at 350°F for about 50 minutes. Allow a few minutes to rest and then cover pan with cooling rack, plate or serving tray and hold tightly together while you flip it over.
Mix up 3/4 cup of confections sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk for a light icing drizzle or use another icing as preferred.
What Can Be Added to Blackberry Cake?
- Lemon zest from one or two lemons would really give this cake a brighter flavor
- Fresh blackberries really bring out the flavors in the jam cake
- Whipped cream adds a creamier sensation to each bite
- Changing up the icing can quickly change how sweet the cake tastes
- More blackberry jam would be a great icing on round cakes that are stacked
- Spices like allspice and nutmeg can be omitted to better feature the blackberry jam flavors
Other Easy Cake Recipes
- Cream Puff Cake is like a cream puff only in cake form and much easier to make
- Angel Food Cake Trifle with Cherries is made with a purchased angel food cake, is super easy to mix up and looks beautiful in a trifle dish
- Pistachio Pudding Cake – even if you don’t think you like pistachios this one is worth a try sometime!
Blackberry Jam Cake
Author: JenniferIngredients
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups blackberry jam
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Mix eggs and butter, add sugar.
- In a seperate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly mix into butter and sugar mixture.
- Add blackberry jam and buttermilk. Pour into greased bundt pan or tube pan.
- Bake for 45 – 55 minutes in a 350°F oven. Invert on a plate to cool.
Notes
- This cake can be made in a bundt pan, 9 x 13 baking pan (decrease baking time) or 3 to 4 round cake pans to make layers – if making a layer cake can spread additional blackberry jelly between the layers
- A basic powdered sugar and milk icing tastes great with this cake, but a batch of cream cheese icing like we use on these Frosted Banana Bars or even a can of store-bought icing tastes great too
- I decrease spices by half from the original recipe because I wanted to enjoy more of the sweet blackberry and cake flavors relative to the spices. I like the hints of spices at this level, but feel free to double the spices if you really enjoy old fashioned spice cakes.
- 2 cups of blackberry jam is roughly equal to an 18 ounce jar of jam
- Cake in picture is iced with 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons or milk mixed together
How much buttermilk is used??
Thanks so much for asking! 1/2 cup of buttermilk and 2 cups of blackberry jam. The recipe card at the bottom is updated. Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Thanks for updating!
Yum! We love blackberry desserts and this looks like a great way to enjoy the berries any time of year.
This sounds and looks like a jam cake my mom used to make. Her’s was so moist! Then she would drizzle a little bit of rum over it and let it sit for a day or two. Even better!
I had been thinking about it lately and had only the vaguest idea about the recipe. Dark colored after baking and moist. Jam cake searches didn’t come close. Then a coworker suggested “blackberry+rum+cake” and your recipe was the first I picked. Your description from the original cookbook sounded like what would catch my mom’s eye too.
When I saw buttermilk and 2 whole cups of jam, I thought, “That sounds about right!” The purpley colored batter triggered memories long forgotten, too.
Gonna have to borrow someone’s kitchen and give this a try…
Love this but…I have made this twice now and both times the center fell. The flavor is fantastic and like a cake my 74 years old father remembers as a kid. Any ideas on how to fix the falling?
Hey There! Thanks for making our recipe! I’m sorry to hear about the falling…are you using a tube pan or bundt pan? I have not had that trouble, but I would make sure you have fresh baking soda and sift it well with the dry ingredients before mixing into the liquid ingredients. Thanks again for visiting our site!
Could this be made into cupcakes?
Hey There! I haven’t tested this and think the batter might be a bit heavy to work well, but please let me know how it works if you give it a try. Hope you enjoy!