White Chocolate Raspberry And Almond Braid Food

RASPBERRY, WHITE CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND TRIFLE

Steps:

• Bring 1 cup whipping cream to simmer in medium saucepan.
• Remove from heat and add white chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
• Cool to barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes.
• Beat 2 1/2 cups cream and 1/2 teaspoon extract in large bowl to soft peaks.
• Fold in white chocolate mixture.
• Stir sugar and 1/2 cup water in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar melts. Mix in 3/4 teaspoon extract and from heat.
• Quickly submerge 1 cookie in syrup; shake excess back into pan. Place dipped cookie in bottom of 14-cup trifle dish. Repeat with enough cookies to cover bottom of dish.
• Spread 1/3 of melted jam over biscuits in dish. Top with 1/3 of partially thawed berries with juices. Spread 1/3 of whipped chocolate cream over.
• Repeat layering with dipped biscuits, melted jam, partially thawed berries, and whipped chocolate cream 2 more times.
• Mound fresh berries in center of trifle. Sprinkle almonds around edge.
• Cover and chill at least 5 hours and up to 24 hours.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BARS WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Position a baking rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.
• In a small saucepan, stir the jam constantly over low heat until pourable, about 1 minute. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, blend together the brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water. Using an electric hand mixer beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the jam over the top of the brownie batter. Using a small spatula, swirl jam into the brownie batter. Bake for 27 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted about 1-inch from the edge of the pan comes out clean. Spread with the melted chocolate and sprinkle with salted almonds. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.
• Cut into 16 bars and store airtight in a plastic container for up to 1 week.

ALMOND RASPBERRY BRAID

Steps:

• Put butter and milk in a small dish and melt in microwave. Cool to luke-warm.
• Add warm water (between 100-110°F) to a medium bowl. Note: Water that is too warm will kill the yeast so be careful. Sprinkle yeast and one teaspoon of sugar into water. Whisk until dissolved and let stand for 10 minutes or until bubbly and doubled in volume.
• Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, salt, lemon peel, cardamom and milk mixture to yeast. Whisk until will mixed.
• Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing well between each cup. The dough is done when it pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball.
• Turn dough onto a floured work surface. Knead about 4 minutes or until dough feels soft and elastic.
• Oil a bowl big enough to allow dough to double in size. Form the dough into a ball and place in bowl, turning once so the top is coated with oil.
• Cover bowl with wax paper and a towel. Let rise for one hour or until dough is doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or lightly grease it.
• Punch down dough. Flour work surface and roll dough into a 10" X 14" rectangle. Transfer to the cookie sheet.
• With the back of a knife, mark the dough lengthwise into three long 14" lanes of equal size.
• For braiding strips, cut the two outer lanes into angled strips a little more than an inch wide. Tip: kitchen shears are easier for this step than a knife.
• Spread the raspberry preserves down the center lane. Slice the Almond Paste into thin coins and lay over the preserves.
• Braid the strips one side over the other, covering the raspberry and Almond Paste. Give a gentle pull to keep the braid neat. Cover braid with towel and let rise 40-60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F, with rack in middle.
• Whisk egg white with 1 teaspoon water and brush onto braid. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and braid sounds hollow when tapped.

RASPBERRY-FILLED WHITE CHOCOLATE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Grease and flour 9-inch square pan. Cover bottom with parchment paper.
• Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat.
• Add 1 cup of the white chocolate chips. Let stand--do not stir (you don't want chips to melt completely).
• In large bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed until lemon-colored.
• Stir in white chocolate chip mixture.
• Add flour, salt and almond extract; mix at low speed until just combined.
• Spread half (about 1 cup) of batter in greased and floured pan.
• Bake at 325° for 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Stir remaining 1 cup white chocolate chips into remaining half of batter; set aside.
• Melt spreadable fruit in small saucepan over low heat. Spread evenly over warm, partially baked crust. (It is important to warm fruit so it is thin enough to spread easily into thin, even layer).
• Gently spoon teaspoonfuls of remaining batter over fruit spread. Be careful--if you try to spread batter around too much you will stir up the fruit layer. (It is ok for some fruit to show through batter).
• Sprinkle with almonds.
• Return to oven and bake an additional 25 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool completely. Carefully invert pan on cutting board. Remove parchment paper and trim off all edges with serrated knife.
• Cut into 1 x 2-inch rectangles.
• If desired, you can make them extra special by dipping in additional melted white chocolate chips.
• Pick up each bar with a toothpick inserted at a slight angle on top. (When toothpick is removed, hole is barely noticeable). Dip into white chocolate just until raspberry layer (halfway up) is covered with chocolate.
• Set on waxed paper to cool.

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In the top of a double boiler over hot water melt 4 squared of white chocolate-set aside.
• Coarsely chop 4 squares of the chocolate and set aside.
• In a large bowl beat the butter, baking soda, salt and eggs together.
• Slowly add the melted chocolate and beat until creamy.
• Gradually stir in the flour, chopped chocolate and almonds.
• Stir until well incorporated.
• Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheets 1 inch apart.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the pre-heated oven.
• You want the edges a light golden brown.
• Remove and coolon racks.
• In a small pan melt the jam.
• Spoon 1/2 teaspoon on each cookie.
• Cool.
• Melt the remaining 3 squares of chocolate and drizzle over the jam covered cookies.
• **Youcan use dark chocolate if you wish, it's nice when half the cookies are drizzled with white chocolate and the other half with dark chocolate.

RASPBERRY, WHITE CHOCOLATE, AND ALMOND TRIFLE

Steps:

• Bring 1 cup cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool to barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes. Beat 2 1/2 cups cream and 1/2 teaspoon extract in large bowl to soft peaks. Fold in white chocolate mixture.
• Stir sugar and 1/2 cup water in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar melts. Mix in 3/4 teaspoon extract; remove syrup from heat. Quickly submerge 1 biscuit in syrup; shake excess back into pan. Place dipped biscuit in bottom of 14-cup trifle dish. Repeat with enough biscuits to cover bottom of dish.
• Spread 1/3 of melted jam over biscuits in dish. Top with 1/3 of partially thawed berries with juices. Spread 1/3 of whipped chocolate cream over. Repeat layering with dipped biscuits, melted jam, partially thawed berries, and whipped chocolate cream 2 more times. Mound fresh berries in center of trifle. Sprinkle almonds around edge. Cover and chill at least 5 hours and up to 24 hours.
• *Available at some supermarkets and at Italian markets.