Holiday Jam Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray, for pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups one 18-ounce jar seedless blackberry preserves
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• confectioners' sugar (optional)

Recipe

• 1 heat oven to 350 degrees. generously grease and flour a 10-inch-by-4-inch tube pan. in a large bowl, stir together 3 cups flour, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt. pour buttermilk into 2-cup glass measure or bowl. stir in baking soda and set aside; it will foam slightly.
• 2 in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter until creamy. gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. beat in vanilla.
• 3 with mixer at low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until just blended. beat in preserves and pecans until just mixed, then finish mixing by hand with a spatula.
• 4 scrape batter into pan and smooth top. bake until cake is springy to the touch and shrinks from sides, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes. (if baking as holiday gifts, pour into three smaller pans and begin checking for doneness after 30 minutes.).
• 5 transfer to wire rack and cool completely in pan. to remove from pan, run a knife or thin spatula around the edges and center tube. turn cake onto plate and lift off pan. if desired, dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.