Would the sugar content in raspberry jam vary enough from brand to brand to make a difference in how sweet the Raspberry Whipped Cream frosting for the Almond Shamah Chiffon cake is in Rose’s Heavenly Cakes book?  Would sugar vs corn syrup in the jam affect the sweetness factor?

ABSOLUTELLY YES!  There is normally a lot of sugar in jams.  In fact, for frosting, we prefer a low sugar jam such as American Spoon Foods raspberry butter or strained Cordon Rose Raspberry Conserve.  These are so tart, you need to add sugar if using as a spread on toasts or to savor on its own.  You could add a few drops of lemon juice to make your sweet jam more unsweet.

If you’re in the US, you can use the nutrition labels to compare sugar content among brands, though higher quality jams with more fruit will require more sugar to balance the tartness.  If you’re feeling ambitious, by all means use the rasberry puree (with the cloud cream recipe) or raspberry conserve (with the jam cream recipe) from the Cake Bible.

When I made the Almond Shamah Chiffon, I used a grocery store brand seedless jam, and what a mistake…it had such an off taste.  I will be making a wedding cake with raspberry buttercream and I refused to go the jam route and have since pressed 3 kg of raspberries for the buttercream/ganache/adornment.  I am sure there are fabulous jams, but after having Rose’s cloud creams with puree, there is no way I’d use an inferior jam again.  I was pressed for time and thought, what the heck…let’s just use this.

i am so sorry you had to go thru this, i completely expected this.  the raspberry jam used on Rose’s creams or buttercreams needs to be something very close to her recipe of Raspberry Conserve or Raspberry Puree from Cake Bible.  It is made with near a ratio of 2 times fruit and 1 or 1/2 times sugar, and nothing else (no pectine).

American Spoon Foods makes and excellent one, listed as Fruit Butters.  It is worth its price in gold.

after you try it, or make your on, you will know the difference.

If you can’t or don’t want to make your own, I highly recommend seeking out a local, artisan crafted brand. These are often MUCH better than any supermarket brand. I use jams made by a small producer in Palisade, Colorado (our wine and fruit center). They are intense and very fruity, with just fruit, sugar, and lemon juice being the only ingredients.

Of course, I should have tasted the jam before I made the whipped cream, alas, one of those errors one makes when having too much on the go or being ill prepared.