indigo pears

Because my sister had given me some Ozark black walnuts, I HAD to bake this
"Blackberry Jam Cake" from P. Allen Smith's grandmother! [We watched him make this on his TV show yesterday.]...this one is baked in my grandmother's very antique graniteware tube pan!


Black walnuts, raisins, buttermilk, flour and eggs are assembled to begin making the cake.

Following his instructions, the eggs are separated and the whites beaten until frothy but not meringue!

Adding the buttermilk and blackberry jam gives the batter a wonderful deep color!

As it cooled on the plate, I made a syrup of the blackberry jam and some red wine, simmering until it thickened a bit....then used it to glaze the cake.

Here is the recipe from P. Allen Smith's website. [my pan was smaller so I made half of the recipe!]

Ingredients
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1 cup raisins
2 tsp. nutmeg, ground
6 eggs, room temperature
2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup black walnuts, chopped
1 cup butter, salted, softened
2 cups blackberry jam, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
Equipment
1 tube pan
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flower a large tube pan, or use a flour-based baking spray such as Baker's Joy. Set the pan aside.
Separate the eggs, putting the yolks and whites in different mixing bowls. I another large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup of the flour mixture with the black walnuts and raisins.
Add the brown sugar, butter, and blackberry jam to the egg yolks, and stir together thoroughly. Stir in the buttermilk. Add the flour mixture.
Beat the egg whites until they turn white but are loose and runny, not too "airy." Fold the egg whites into the batter. Then mix the nuts and raisins, blending only enough so that they are equally distributed in the batter.
Pour the batter into the tube pan and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, it's done.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Then loosen the cake from the sides of the pan by running a knife around the edge. Invert a cake plate over the pan, and invert the tow together. Lift off the tube pan.
Slice and serve.