This one's for Terry!

 Terry, I don't have a specific recipe that I use. My family all mostly cook by taste.We grew up making scratch cakes, and once you learn to do that, you can mix up almost anything and get a decent product. I use cooks.com a lot to get ideas on various recipes,but I hate having to follow a recipe. I usually end up doing it my way after I have read over their recipe.

The cream cheese jam bars sounds good and easy, too.I may give it a try for our Wise Family Reunion coming up in August.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1823,145189-243204,00.html

When my family make cakes, we usually toss in nuts,raisins,jams,jellies, or preserves. Whatever we want to move, and it usually turns out pretty good. I got a jam cake recipe from a friend, years ago, but it called for so much that I did not have on hand, I decided not to use it. I try to use what I have in my cupboards. Occasionally, I might buy nuts. I like nuts in my jam and fruit cakes.We usually make fruit type cakes around Christmas.We make all different variations. Sometimes we even soak one or two with blackberry wine, or whatever liquor you prefer.I don't do alcohol myself. I love to experiment with my own version of a recipe, but then when you hit on something you really like, it's not very likely that you could duplicate it again.

That was one of my favorite aspects of the job I held for 27+ years. In the beginning, we were allowed to mix up any recipe we chose to. The guidelines were not so strict as they became in later years. We had boocoodles of government foods at our disposal. We were free to utilize them in any way we could to come  up with a food  that the children would like and eat. I remember being bombarded with cheddar cheese, raisins, figs, nuts,flour,powdered milk,etc. There were so many different products that we were given by the government to utilize. If you were creative and loved to cook, as I did, you were in Heaven. I loved my job, until they got so strict, and demanded we follow specific recipes, and documented every drop of everything we used in each recipe.I do realize it was for the safety of the people we were serving, but it was a pain,especially doing all the paperwork. It finally began to look as if the paperwork was all that mattered. They seemed to care less if we fed the children. Our county did have an excellent School Lunch Program. I was so proud to be part of it.My Supervisor and I went to high school together. She was excellent at her job. She was over all of the cafeterias and their workers for the entire county. I think at that time there were 22 schools all total with Preschools,Elementary,Middle, and High Schools. Some schools with about 2,000 students.She worked in that position until she retired a year or two after I did, then she went on to work in Washington,D.C. making decisions that would improve the School Food Services for children all over the United States.I know she is doing wonders for them there, as well.

Terry, if you look over the cooks. com site, you can pull up all sorts of jam cake recipes,even a Kentucky Jam Cake recipe, and you will hopefully find one that suits your family.I do like to use a tried and true recipe that others have made, but I truly don't have one.Good Luck finding one of your family's liking on the site.