Accidental Jam and Tea Cakes

I'm calling this accidental jam because I was trying to make something else when it turned into jam. Really good jam! So good that I've made it on purpose 3 times since then. Got half an hour and a couple pounds of strawberries? Then you CAN make jam.

This was supposed to be part of the strawberry cheesecake tart that I made for my birthday. But it looked overcooked and I didn't want to put it on the cheesecake tart and ruin it. So I put it in a jar and threw it in the fridge. The next day I tried it and it was delicious. It definitely tasted like strawberry and it was chunky from the addition of the uncooked fruit. It was thickened from the fruits natural pectin and it only has 1/2 a cup of sugar in it so it's not overly sweet.

It's great on bread, toasted or not, with peanut butter and baked into other goodies like these tea cakes! Ingrid from 3 B's and I baked "together" another cupcake from Martha's Cupcakes. This time it was my choice! I chose Strawberry Jam Tea Cakes with an Orange Glaze.

They were really good but rich. For some reason I was expecting more of a muffin type recipe, but it was more like pound cake baked into muffin tins. You definitely need a cuppa coffee (or tea), even milk to have with these. I was going to halve this recipe but I made the full batch since the recipe says it only makes 16. Except it made 22! and I purposely measured out the amount of batter that went into each tin.

I shared them with a friend who ate 4 of them in a matter of 5 minutes. I took them to her for both of us to share but as soon as I handed her the plate, she pulled back the plastic wrap and stuffed half of one in her mouth! Before I knew it, she had eaten them all and I didn't have the heart to tell her they were for both of us. At least she liked them!

Even though I used strawberry jam these would be equally good with other fruit jams as well. You can also substitute the orange for your favorite citrus. Ingrid made hers with raspberry jam and a lime glaze. Go check out her tea cakes! Ingrid, thanks for baking with me!

Accidental Strawberry Jam

• 1 1/2 lbs. strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice of half a lemon

Slice all but 3-4 strawberries. Place the sliced strawberries in a medium saucepan with the sugar and the lemon juice. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until thick and jam like. Mash the fruit with a spoon to break it up a bit as you go. When it's ready the jam will be move around the pan in one solid-like mass (about 25 minutes).

Finely dice the remaining strawberries. Take off the heat and fold the diced fresh strawberries into the jam. Place in a container and cool to room temperature. Keep refrigerated and consume within 2 weeks.

Strawberry Jam Tea Cakes from Martha's Cupcakes

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 4 large eggs, separated, room temp.
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup strawberry jam
• Citrus Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray or brush with butter and dust with flour. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and zest until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until just combined after each.

In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peaks; gently fold into the batter. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each prepared cup. Make an indentation in the middle of each; fill with 1 tablespoon jam. Top with an additional 2 tablespoons batter, covering jam entirely.

Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers of top layers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Run a small offset spatula around the edges, and turn the cakes onto wire racks and let cool completely.

To finish, drizzle cakes with glaze, and let set, about 30 minutes. Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days in a single layer at room temperature in airtight containers.

Orange Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 3 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth. If necessary, add more sugar to thicken or more juice to thin the glaze. Use immediately.

Ingrid, I look forward to seeing which cupcake you choose next!