White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Get original recipe here

Ellen, Ivan and I had a lot of fun making this cake--they were all over testing the delicious frosting, but....once the raspberries were topped the cake, frosting and cake were forgotten.  They were the best part (I guess that just proves God is still the best chef).

Raspberry Cake with White Chocolate

- 3 oz White chocolate; chopped

- 3/4 cup Milk; divided

- 1 3/4 cup All-purpose flour

- 2 tsp Baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon Salt

- 1/3 cup Butter; at room temperature

- 1 cup Granulated sugar

- 1 tablespoon Raspberry Extract

- 4 Eggs

- White Chocolate and Cream Cheese Frosting {Recipe Follows}

- 1/8 tsp Red Food Color

- 1 cup Raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch round baking pans.

Melt white chocolate with about half of the milk in a small, heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate starts to melt. Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Stir in remaining milk. Let cool.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until soft and smooth. Add sugar and raspberry extract; beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until well-combined. Alternately add flour mixture and white chocolate mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

Spread batter in pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Let cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool completely.

Stir food color into 2/3 cup of the frosting until well blended. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread with the tinted frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. Top with raspberries just before serving. Store cake in the refrigerator.

White Chocolate and Cream Cheese Frosting

– 6 oz white chocolate (melt as directed on package, then cool 5 mins)

- 8 oz cream cheese

- 1/4 cup butter (softened)

- 2 tsp raspberry extract 

- 2 cup confectioners sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium (I used my KitchenAid) until well blended. Add cooled white chocolate and raspberry extract. Mix well. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy.

* The raspberry extract and red food coloring were just so tempting, plus the reviews were amazing.  That being said, next time, we'll just have raspberries.

Cinnamon-Peach Cottage Cheese Pancakes

from Allrecipes

We always make the same kind of pancakes, this was fun for a change, but not a replacement.

Ingredients

•    4 eggs
•    1 cup cottage cheese
•    1/2 cup milk
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•    2 tablespoons butter, melted
•    1 peach, shredded
•    1 cup all-purpose flour
•    2 tablespoons white sugar
•    1 pinch salt
•    3/4 teaspoon baking soda
•    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Mix eggs, cottage cheese, milk, vanilla, butter, and peach in a large bowl. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir flour mixture into the cottage cheese mixture until just combined.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.