Carrot cake Jam

I absolutely love homemade carrot cake! Especially if it's piled high with a decadent cream cheese frosting on top. Funny story: last year, I hosted an exchange student from Peru.  Ignacia had never even heard of carrot cake but the thought of putting carrots in a cake was a completely crazy and unappealing idea to her.  I get that.  When you think about it, carrots and cake don't exactly seem like good bed fellows.

We happened to be at a restaurant who served excellent carrot cake and so I ordered a piece for Ignacia to try.  Like a kid being forced to try a food they hate, she reluctantly agreed, plugged her nose and took a bite.  In less than a second, Ignacia's eyes jumped with joy and she declared, "Oh my goodness, it's delicous!" From that moment on she was a fan of carrot cake.

That's how I feel about this jam. I found this recipe in the Ball Jam cookbook and thought I'd give it a go. Much to my surprise, it tastes incredible close to carrot cake. One of my favorite ways to use it is by loading up a fresh baked bagel with cream cheese and then topping it with a generous spoonful of this jam. It's like having dessert for breakfast! I have listed the ingredients below and you can find the directions to this recipe on the "Fresh Preserving" site by Ball by clicking here.