Miss Kay's Duck Commander Kitchen (38 page)

Blackberry Jam Cake

Makes 1 (9x13-inch) cake • 9x13-inch cake pan • Electric mixer • Medium saucepan • Nonstick cooking spray and flour, for the pan

Cake

2 cups sugar

2 sticks (
¹
/
₂
pound) butter, softened (do not use margarine)

4 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup blackberry jam

Caramel Frosting

1 cup whole milk

1 cup evaporated milk (I use Pet)

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup candied cherries

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (we like pecans or walnuts)

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Grease and flour the cake pan.

2. Make the cake: In a large bowl, with the electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until creamy.

3. Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat until blended.

4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour.

5. Add the blackberry jam and mix well.

6. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with the mixer. (The peaks will stay standing when you remove the beaters.) Gently fold into the batter.

7. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until the cake starts to pull away at the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

8. Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes, then run a spatula around the sides and invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

9. Make the frosting: Cook the whole and evaporated milks, sugar, and butter in the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until a soft ball forms. Stir in the vanilla, cherries, and nuts. Frost the cake immediately, before the caramel hardens.

A Note from Miss Kay

This recipe was a favorite of Granny’s, and it makes a beautiful cake!

Thank-Yous

I want to thank Philis Boultinghouse, senior editor with Howard Books, for being a lifelong friend and now a champion of my cookbook.

Thank you to the entire team at Simon & Schuster, which has been instrumental in making my dream come true, and a special thanks to Amanda Demastus, who worked tirelessly on managing many of the details that helped bring this book together.

Thank you to the amazing food photographer, Jennifer Davick, who brought my recipes to life, and to Russell Graves, who traveled to West Monroe to capture a little of our life in his photography.

Many, many thanks to my dearest friends at White’s Ferry Road Church, who volunteered to cook and taste my recipes and give us clear instructions on what each one needed.

Thank you to my sweet muffin group for giving me a place to share my life story and for being willing to be a part of this book.

Thank you to my Nanny and Phil’s granny for being grandmothers who weren’t afraid to speak the truth and who taught me as much about life as they did about cooking.

Thank you to my husband, Phil, for sharing my love of cooking and for the many times he allowed me to take credit for a dish he created.

Thank you to my first cooking students, Alan, Jase, Willie, and Jep. Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey in life. You are the best sons any mother could ask for!

I am mostly grateful to God and my savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me the hope of living forever and the peace of mind to live in this troubled world with pure joy.

And, lastly, thank you to my friend, co-grandparent, and cowriter, Chrys Howard. Neither one of us ever dreamed we would write a cookbook together. But we do know this—God arms those He assigns to do a task. With her writing skills and my cooking skills, we were able to get the job done. Thank you, Chrys, for leading me through this experience. Now let’s get back to being grandmothers to some of the best grandkids ever!

Chrys and I had a great time celebrating Bella’s birthday with her. In the background you can see a tent. Thankfully Bella excused us from the overnight part of the party.

RUSSELL GRAVES

Kay Robertson
is the beloved matriarch of the Robertson family and star of the
Duck Dynasty
^®
series on A&E
^®
. She was fifteen and Phil was sixteen when they married, and since then she’s been keeping him and her boys from spending too much time in the woods by bringing them back to civilization each night with a home-cooked meal. Kay loves mentoring other women and is involved with several women’s groups that are extensions of her church family. She and her husband, Phil, live at the mouth of the Cypress River in West Monroe, Louisiana, in the same house they’ve lived in since 1976.

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