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Sometimes going back to your roots can be very comforting. Just as Grandma’s quilt can wrap you in a comforting hug, an old-fashioned cake can hug you inside. If you had a grandma from West Virginia, you may find that this old cake recipe pleasantly familiar. If not, you may still find that this cake provides a warm embrace. . .from the warm spices if nothing else.
This Sorghum Cake is a layer cake with jelly (or fruit butter) sandwiched between the layers. It is assembled warm resulting in the jelly penetrating the layers, especially the bottom layer.
It can be served warm or at room temperature. Although it slices more cleanly and easily when it is at room temperature, my daughter and I both prefer it warm. However, my husband likes it at room temperature better. The slice in the above picture was still warm…yum.
The original recipe calls for grape jelly. I have an affinity for a grape jelly-filled cake… a long story involving a trip to England when I was 14…but I was not thrilled with the brand I purchased to make this cake. I will say that after it sank into the cake layers, the jelly flavor improved. I will probably go back to using black raspberry or blackberry the next time. My daughter wants me to put apple butter in the center.
This recipe calls for sorghum syrup (a.k.a. sorghum molasses). It is NOT the same thing as molasses. Molasses is made from boiled sugar cane or sugar beets and comes in three varieties: light, dark, and black strap. Sorghum syrup is made by boiling the juice extracted from the stalks or canes of the sorghum plants. While you can substitute light or dark molasses or treacle (if using a British product), it will give a different flavor profile. However, you should not substitute blackstrap molasses or black treacle for sorghum. The black molasses is too strong of a flavor for this cake.
I am lucky enough to have Muddy Pond Sorghum made in my area, but there are other brands of sorghum syrup available in many grocery stores. If there is not any sorghum syrup available in your area, you can buy it on Amazon. There are smaller containers available, but the 48 oz. is the best price per ounce. Sorghum is like honey and sugar cane molasses in that it is good for a VERY long time and does not have to be refrigerated.
Sorghum Layer Cake
Ingredients
- 1 c. sorghum syrup
- 2/3 c. vegetable shortening
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
- 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ginger, ground
- 1/2 tsp. cloves, ground
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- grape jelly*
- powdered sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cream sorghum and shortening together in a large bowl.
- Stir in egg.
- Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, and cloves together.
- Mix in one-third of the dry ingredients to the sorghum mixture.
- Stir in one-half of the buttermilk.
- Continue adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, alternating between the two and mixing well after each addition.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour into two prepared round 8 or 9-inch pans. It is highly recommended that you use a piece of parchment paper or dry wax round on the bottom of the cake pan as well as greasing and flouring the side and/or bottom.
- Bake until the cake springs back with the touch of a finger and a tester comes out clean: about 20 - 25 minutes for a 9-inch pan or 25 to 30 for an 8-inch pan.
- Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack for a few minutes.
- Move one layer to a cake plate while the cake is still warm and spread a layer of jelly or fruit butter over it. For a cleaner look, do not take the jelly to the edge of the cake.
- Top with the second layer of cake.
- Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
* Other flavors of jelly, preserves, or fruit butters may be used instead of grape jelly. Black raspberry jelly, blackberry jelly, orange marmalade, peach preserves, apple butter, and pear butter are all recommended.
