I don’t have any musings on motherhood or the state of the world or life as we know it for you today. Sometimes it just needs to be about the food. And this simple, but beautiful recipe deserves just that. It could be reimagined with any number of forms(loaf cake with jam swired in, trifle, different fruit combos, heck throw some oreos in the mix if you’re like my husband). This recipe is really what I love about baking. Simplicity that looks decadent.I promised you the second recipe that I made last week and I did not forget. I realllllly liked these. I have an affinity for all things cream and fruit based, so this made me very happy. I’ve found this combo of whipped cream/cream cheese frosting is my thing these days. I can’t stand how good it is. I decided to make these simple by using jam, but you could use whatever you want, fresh fruit, a fruit puree. The cake is my pound cake recipe which is one of my favorite base recipes. The sugar almost begins to caramelize on top of this cake while baking and results in a flaky sugary top layer. This is warm weather food. Perfect for back yard barbeques and picnics in the park. I’m ready for warm weather food(but maybe not so ready for the warm weather itself). And farmers markets. And cocktails loaded with mint. Happy spring Wisconsin. It’s about time.Raspberry Jam Shortcakes

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup(2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 large eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups raspberry jam
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking dish. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, butter, eggs and 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased dish and bake for 1 hour, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool Completely.

2. In a stand mixer beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Set aside(here’s where I use a spatula to scrape it out of the mixer thoroughly, if I had another mixing bowl for my kitchenaid I would simply use that). Beat cream starting at medium speed and increasing as cream thickens. When soft peaks form add confectioners sugar and remaining teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form. Beat cream cheese back in. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with your choice of tip.

3. To assmeble, use a ring mold or biscuit cutter to cut out rounds from the cake. Top each with approximately 1 tablespoon of jam. Pipe cream on top of each cake. Best served immediately, however individual components store well, placing the cakes in an airtight container, and the cream in the refridgerator.