AMERICAN CAKE
Part history book, part cookbook, Anne Byrn’s American Cake traces the origin of grand American classics, from the lovely red velvet cake to the beloved original pound cake. Taking a close look at the recipes from some of America’s first cookbooks and even rediscovering a few in the process, Anne’s cookbook explores the intertwined relationship between American baking and American culture. One cake she includes is Granny Kellett’s Jam Cake, a sweet precursor to the famous Tennessee jam cake.
GRANNY KELLETT’S JAM CAKE
Makes: 12 to 16 servings
Amanda (Granny) Kellett was known for her jam cake. Amanda baked it after the Civil War, when wild blackberries were easy to find, just as they still are in many rural parts of America. Amanda’s great-granddaughter, Marion Hurley of Nashville, still makes Granny’s Jam Cake and has all her life. “We would go out as children with a bucket and pick enough berries for jam,” she says. “They were delicious, wild, and wonderful.” Marion says the story of Granny Kellett’s jam cake is retold each time her family makes the treasured cake.
The story goes that Joe Kellett was wounded badly in the Civil War but was able to crawl away from battle and hide in the brush. When the battle quieted, Joe crawled to a nearby farm, and the family took him in and treated his wounds. Joe fell in love with the family’s daughter—Amanda—and after the war, he finished school and came back for Amanda’s hand in marriage. They would marry, raise seven children together, and run a boardinghouse where Amanda was known for her jam cake. The family continues to bake this cake on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Sundays, and birthdays—as often as possible. Marion remembers her mother’s LaRue County Kitchens of Kentucky
