Decadent! White Chocolate Lemon Cake

Ingredients for the cake:
8 oz (one stick) good quality unsalted butter
8 oz good quality white chocolate chips
1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 T fresh lemon juice
Lemon Zest from one lemon (heaping tsp)

Ingredients for the icing:
½ cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz good quality candy making white chocolate
1 T lemon juice
Lemon zest from one lemon (heaping teaspoon)
4 drops of yellow food coloring

Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Use cooking spray on a 9" round pan
Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray again

Wisk flour, baking power and salt together and set aside

In a medium saucepan bring approximately 2” of water to a boil
Place butter and cake chocolate in a large heatproof bowl – set over (not in) the hot water
Let set 10 minutes
Stir to combine (mixture should be creamy)
Let cool approximately 5 minutes

Wisk in sugar, vanilla, eggs, buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice in that order
Mix until well combined.
Fold in flour mixture until also well combined

Pour into prepared pan

Bake on center rack 45 to 60 minutes. Cake should pull slightly away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center should have just a few moist crumbs. Lest cool in pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around edges and invert onto a serving platter to allow to cool completely.


Icing directions:
Place chocolate in pieces in a heat resistant bowl
In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup whipping cream to a boil over high heat; stir in lemon juice
Strain hot cream mixture over chocolate, add lemon zest – let stand approximately 5 minutes
Stir until very smooth.
Let cool until mixture fall in ribbons
Pour over center of cake
Use a spreader to spread to the edges of the cake and allow to dribble down the edges.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Recipe from "Baking Illustrated")
Makes approx. 3 dozen

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 C packed light brown sugar
1 C granulated sugar
1 C creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C dry-roasted salted peanuts, ground to resemble bread crumbs
1 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl and set aside. Either by hand, or with an electric mixer, beat the butter till creamy. Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer, stopping to scrape bowl as necessary. Beat in the peanut butter until fully incorporated, then the eggs, 1 at a time, then the vanilla. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture. Add the ground peanuts and chocolate chips and stir gently until just incorporated.

Working with a generous 2 tablespoons each time, roll the dough into 2-inch balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart. Press each dough ball twice with a dinner fork to make a crisscross design.

Bake until the cookies are puffed and slightly brown around the edges but not on top, 10 to 12 minutes. (The cookies will not look fully baked). Cool the cookies on the baking sheets until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in a sealed container to keep cookies soft.

Make sure you have a big glass of milk with these cookies, you'll need it!

White Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick(s) (8 Tbsp. unsalted) butter, softened
• 1 cup(s) (packed) brown sugar
• 1 cup(s) (granulated) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 3 cup(s) flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 2 tablespoon(s) milk
• 1 cup(s) (chopped) macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup(s) (candied ) cherries, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cup(s) white chocolate chunks or chips

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Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.
• 2. In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until just combined. Set aside.
• 3. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. With mixer on low speed, add milk to the butter mixture, then add the flour mixture. Beat until just combined (batter should be stiff).
• 4. In another bowl, combine nuts, cherries and white chocolate chunks. Stir into batter with wooden spoon just until blended. Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, or until golden, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

Honey Walnut Shrimp

"Hong Kong Style Chinese recipe! Crispy battered shrimp tossed in creamy sauce topped with sugar coated walnuts"

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PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	15 Min
READY IN	30 Min

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 4 egg whites
• 2/3 cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon canned sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS
Stir together the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the walnuts. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain and place walnuts on a cookie sheet to dry.

Whip egg whites in a medium bowl until foamy. Stir in the mochiko until it has a pasty consistency. Heat the oil in a heavy deep skillet over medium-high heat. Dip shrimp into the mochiko batter, and then fry in the hot oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

In a medium serving bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, honey and sweetened condensed milk. Add shrimp and toss to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the candied walnuts on top and serve.