Cake Ingredients

5 eggs separated
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs cherry jelly
1/4 tsp almond extract

Cherries Jubilee Filling

1 quart pitted black cherries
1/2 cup claret
1 cup or less sugar (to taste)
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp lemon juice

To Make The Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat the egg whites until they stand up in soft peaks. Beat in the 1/4 cup sugar a tablespoon at a time. Without washing the beater, beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in the 3/4 cup of sugar. Pour the yolk mixture over the beaten egg whites and fold together gently with a spoon or spatula until well blended. Sift the flour and salt together and fold into the egg mixture. Spoon the batter into two unbuttered 9-inch layer pans. Cut through the batter gently several times to break any large air bubbles. Bake about 30 minutes. Test by pressing lightly with a finger. If the cake springs back, it's done. Invert on a wire rack to cool.

To Make The Cream Cheese Filling

Cream the sugar and cream cheese together, add remaining ingredients and beat until thick.

To Make The Cherries Jubilee Filling

Dissolve the sugar in the claret and pour over the cherries. Let stand for several hours. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of the cherry juice. Heat the cherries in a saucepan to the boiling point. Lower heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat, add spices and lemon juice and allow to cool.

To Assemble The Cake

Place one layer of sponge cake on a cake platter and spread a layer of cream filling about 3 inches wide around the perimeter of the top of the cake. Cut out the center (in a heart shape if using heart-shaped pans) of the other layer, leaving a 3 inch border. Put aside the center piece you cut out. Place the layer with the cut-out center on top of the other and press down to make the layers stick together. Decorate by placing a paper doily on top of the cake and sifting confectioners' sugar over the doily. Carefully remove the doily and fill the center of the cake with the Cherries Jubilee filling.

There, now, wasn't that simple??