The blog had it's birthday cake and it shared some with me. This is the walnut jam cake over at smitten kitchen and it was very very good. I didn't deviate from the recipe at all except for the size of the pan. Here's my report:
- I used a 6" round cake pan instead of a 8" and that was not the best idea—only because I had to increase the cooking time a bit and was annoyed I had to keep checking it. Next time I will just use an 8" round. I just love small cakes, so I had to try.
- The sour cream/whipped cream topping was very good, but quite tart. I like sour and tart, but this was really almost not sweetened at all. I was tempted to add more sugar but was so happy I didn't because the jam is plenty sweet. But I will warn you, it was too tart for me to just eat out of the bowl, like whipped cream, and the girls were a bit sad by this. In the future, I will probably add a bit more sugar to it so the whole family will enjoy it more.
- I actually like this cake even better chilled from the fridge the next morning—with the jam and topping on it. The whole thing firmed up a bit. It eats like a meal. The walnuts are rich, so it's the prefect breakfast cake. It's not very sweet at all, as desserts go, which I love.
- Because I used my everyday jam, not a special occasion jam, it ended up tasking like a really really good muffin with my normal jam. The cake is more like a quick bread, it's barely sweet as well, so the mixture of all the flavors reminds me of the best muffin ever. I think next time I will use a jam I don't eat on a daily basis.
Unrelated-
- I am thrilled that I can buy just the lids for the glass storage bowls at Crate and Barrel, not just online. Many of you mentioned you recycled them by accident, as did I. You have to ask for them—they don't have them on the floor. I bought 10 and my life has improved much since then.
- I sure like the new posthumous Jack Rose album, Luck in the Valley. Here's a bit on NPR.
