Walnut Jam Cake

This is a delicious cake with perfectly balanced flavors of butteriness, nuttiness, tartness and sweetness (which is to say, barely sweet, just how I like my snacks!). I've made it a few times over the years from this recipe but I have never made it with the whipped cream. It is really delightful with just the jam, and frankly, the cake would be tasty enough on it's own. It's that good. I had a handful of  fresh cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving so I boiled them with a little sugar and lemon juice and it made the perfect quick jam for this cake.

Cake:
1 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven, and cooled
2/3 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/2 cup jam (use whatever you've got!)
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a round cake pan (Deb says 8", I used a 9" pan and it was fine).

Pulse cooled walnuts and sugar in a food processor until finely chopped. Add butter and process until combined, then add eggs and vanilla and process till combined. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse till just incorporated. Spread batter in pan.

Bake until wooden pick inserted into cake comes out clean. For me, in the 9" pan: I cooked it for 20 minutes, turned off the oven and let the cake sit in the oven for an extra 5 minutes and it was done.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Spoon jam over cake.