It’s been about six months now that I’ve been participating in the Vintage Recipe Swap hosted by Christianna of Burwell General Store. I love reworking the recipes from her junk store find which is part cookbook, part hymnal. Last month brought about the epic Donut Vodka which was awesome & disastrous all at once, so for this month’s Jelly Cake I wanted to make a surefire hit.
Like my fellow swapper, Lindsay (Rosemarried), I tend to favor the savoury things in life, even when having desserts. When the subject of a jelly cake came up, two things came to mind:
1. I had to incorporate tomato jam
2. Cakewich
It’s the middle of July, and tomatoes are at their peak of sweetness reminding us with each juicy bite that they are, in fact, fruits. Tiny cherry tomatoes are especially perfect for jam. Bright, tart, and sweet I don’t bother seeding or peeling these lovely little fruits. I especially love pairing them with citrus. In this case Meyer Lemons from a friend’s yard.
Now, you may be asking yourself what the heck a cakewich is. Well, I’ve had this silly cake mold for about a year, and I decided this was the perfect time to break it out. The mold creates a cake that looks like one giant sandwich about eight inches across and four inches high. The illusion is so good, that no matter what I tried putting into the photos for scale, it still just looks like a sandwich. Oh well. It certainly didn’t taste like one.
Here’s what I made. One of my favorite sandwiches is goat cheese and tomatoes plain and simple, so… I made a simple goat’s butter pound cake which is literally the best I have ever made. I can’t take too much credit though, I used this recipe from Martha Stewart and replaced cow’s milk butter with goat’s butter and the regular flour with gluten free flour from Cup4Cup Flour
. I also used the most beautiful eggs from Eat Well Farm. Onto the cakewich, went my tomato and meyer lemon jam and some homemade goat cream cheese frosting. Is it for everyone? No. If you love savory flavors in your dessert, then go for it. We have been loving this cake, and I can eat the jam by the spoonful and I love it on sandwiches as well. I would say, the goat butter pound cake is for everyone, though, and I am going to make one- completely unadulterated for my birthday cake.
You can make this in a Cakewich pan or just bake in two loaf pans and spoon the jam and frosting on top for a more elegant presentation.
INGREDIENTS:
1 Recipe Martha Stewart Pound Cake (for the full two cakes) – sub goat’s milk butter for cow’s and Cup4Cup gluten free flour for the regular flour
- INGREDIENTS TOMATO JAM
- 2.5 lbs of mixed cherry tomatoes
- Juice of 1 meyer lemon
- Peel of 3 meyer lemons cut into thin strips with pith removed
- 1 cup of sugar
- pinch of sea salt
- INGREDIENTS GOAT CHEESE FROSTING
- 3 oz goat butter- cubed and softened
- 3 oz very fresh goat cheese (chevre) softened
- ½ cup of powdered sugar (I used homemade- so not quite fluffy use less if using storebought)
- pinch of sea salt
- INSTRUCTIONS JAM
- Cook tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon peel, sugar, and salt in a very heavy pot over medium high heat skimming foam from the top. Smash some of the cherry tomatoes with a potato masher, a drink muddler, or a fork to release liquid.
- Continue skimming foam, and watching carefully as the jam thickens, you don’t want to brown or burn the tomatoes. Gradually lower the temperature to a simmer and cook down until very thick and jammy- about one hour or until the liquid runs very slowly off of a metal spoon.
- INSTRUCTIONS GOAT CHEESE FROSTING
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy with hand or stand mixer
- Add goat cheese and sea salt and continue beating until completely combined and very fluffy.
Make sure the sweetness is good for you.
Note: If you are using the cakewich, make sure to cool completely, then remove the dome top of the cake.
Slice through the middle and add the frosting and jam to the center of the “bread” then add your top slice back on.
Um, hello. Gorgeous! Simply gorgeous.
Wow, I'm completely flattered! Mark, you literally wrote the book on Goat. This writer is doing a happy dance. Next time you're in San Francisco, let me know, and I'll make one for you.
Love the savory spin you put on the recipe…and goat cheese frosting?! YUM!!
I love that the one time I don't do a savory interpretation of the recipe, you mention me and my love of savory things. Oops! I guess I do have a sweet tooth occasionally. And seriously, I am really sad that I don't live in the same city as you…because I would invite myself over often to eat your gorgeous food. Goat's butter pound cake with tomato jam? I think I died and went to foodie heaven. That sounds PERFECT.
I have never tried goat butter, even though I adore goat milk and goat cheese (whenever I am in Serbia, my dad brings a litter or two couple of times a week, and some really fresh, young cheese from the woman who grows goats close to his little "ranch").
I was laughing when I saw the photo of your Cakewich on Twitter, but having a giant cake that looks like a sandwich would be just quirky enough for my family:)
I love your creativity in this recipe, and I am so glad I joined the Recipe Swap:)
Oh my god. Sabrina. This is out of control. Can't WAIT to try it (especially since I've always got a jar of tomato jam hanging around).
I love that cakewich! Your tomato jam sounds so very very good, but that goat cheese frosting is way over the top! I would love to try that delicious creation, so many great flavors between those lovely slices of pound cake…..sigh
Congrats on your 101st post and it is a nice one! I can't wait to try this!
Um, yes please.
I can’t wait to try making the tomato jam! I have been searching recipes and this is what I was looking for. Some recipes call for pectin? So guess you don’t have to use it. Thanks for recipe!