Home made strawberry jam, wrapped in a crunchy, buttery cookie-like cake. An oh so elegant version of a simple jam cake. That said, this was really quite easy, split into 2 steps, with a chill in between, But it made for a dramatic presentation.
The dough was simple: butter; brown and white sugars; vanilla and a mixture of flour, baking powder and salt. Very similar to a cookie dough, that gets rolled out between plastic or paper and then chilled so it can be worked with. The filling can either be a jam (cherry is the traditional) or pastry cream. If filled with jam, there’s no worry about chilling the leftovers, and since I make my own jams, I decided on using some strawberry that I had on hand.
I ended up using a 9″ pan, because my dough rounds were closer to that size. I sprayed the pan, then lined it with parchment to be sure to be able to remove the cake in case the jam filling made it’s way out.
This consists of 2 layers of dough, with about 3/4 c of jam spread in between. The top layer gets tucked in to make a neat package around the filling.
This gets brushed with an egg wash, then scored with a fork to create a “grid” type pattern. Mine turned out to be more of a plaid, but that was ok. This goes into a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. I was doing other things so didn’t check on it until the timer went off. I think it could have used about 5 minutes less – oh, and this pan was black, so I probably should have dropped the temperature down. But it turned out to be a beautiful golden brown.
I was pleased at how easy it was to turn out the cake – first on one side, then right-side up. It’s both tender and sturdy, so no mishaps here. I did end up with a funny bubble (maybe some air trapped under the top layer? But generally, I was pleased with how it turned out.
This really is an elegant dessert. I think it would be wonderful for tea too, or tucked in a lunch box for a special surprise. Certainly some berries, custard or cream wouldn’t be amiss here to dress it up if desired, but it’s a terrific dessert as it is.
If you’d like to see the beautiful desserts my friends at French Fridays with Dorie made, you can find them here.
dulceshome 
Beautifully done, Candy! I think Bill would have enjoyed the jam version if I had switched it up…strawberry was a terrific idea 🙂
Candy, your serving of the GB is very elegant indeed. Gorgeous homemade gourmet jam!
This was really too easy to be soooo good. Yours looks just perfect.
Looks great! I love the label on your homemade jam. Do you print them yourselves or order them? So elegant.
This was fun to make, I look forward to making it again. Thanks for the Sur La Table recommendation. We have one in Santa Monica.
gah–homemade strawberry would be so good in this! I agree that it’s a very elegant cake.
Candy, perfectly lovely tea cake, especially with that delicious homemade strawberry jam – wonderful labels too – these jars make absolutely fabulous gifts!
It looks great to me, and I am very impressed by your homemade jam. I got a weird little bubble too.
If you hadn’t mentioned that you made that jam, I would have thought you bought that jar at a specialty store. Love it!
I did a double take because my eye went to the photo first and I thought you found some jam with your “Dulce” on it 😉 then realized it is your own gorgeous and yummy product. Wow. Great results – bubble or not- and a fab recipe. LOVED it.
Your homemade strawberry jam looks absolutely delicious. I love the label. Gorgeous.
Love that bubble, Candy. It certainly gives your gateau personality. Homemade strawberry jam and a great big cookie. What’s not to like. Very nicely done, my dear.
I bet this was so good with that homemade strawberry jam!
Gorgeous! And I love your personalized labels – very cool.