White Chocolate and Cashew Bar

This is my version of the White Chocolate Cashew Brownie on the site lovefoodies.com. There was a piece of white chocolate in the cupboard, as well as some cashews, and with those being two of my husband's favourite snacks, when I saw this recipe I had to try it out! It was even better than I thought it would be, soft and chewy inside, with chunks of cashews and chocolate in every bite. It was also very quick and easy!

I made a few small changes...less nuts and more chocolate, because I had such a little bit of chocolate left and decided to use it all. I also saw a lime in the fruit bowl, so I added some lime zest.

Start off by turning the oven on to 325F. Line a 10" X 10' pan with foil,  lightly greasing it.

In a double boiler, over low heat, melt:

150g white chocolate, chopped
150g butter, cubed


When it has melted, set it aside until needed.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, place:

4 eggs
1 egg yolk
Zest of 1/2 lime

Add:

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip on high speed until the mixture is thick and pale.

Add the cooled, melted chocolate and butter and whip until it is combined. The mixture should still be fluffy, but the colour will be pale yellow.

Add the dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
Pinch of salt

Whip on low speed until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

Fold in :

1/3 cup chopped white chocolate
1 cup roughly chopped, toasted cashews

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.

Place the pan into the oven and bake until it is golden and set, but with a few moist crumbs still sticking to a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the bar.

This took about 50 minutes.






Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bar to cool completely, before using the foil liner to carefully lift the bar out of the pan. Cut into 2" squares...these are very sweet, and very rich and oh so delicious!

• This bar was so delicious, and so easy, and has inspired me no end...I can't wait to try it again, with variations, of course.
• I increased the original recipe so that I could bake it in a 10" X 10" pan, and used slightly less sugar. I also used part white and part brown sugar, because I didn't have enough white sugar! 
• Try this using other nuts such as hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans or even salted peanuts. I would like to try it with dried fruit such as cherries, cranberries or figs. Dark, bittersweet chocolate chunks would contrast nicely with the sweetness of the white chocolate if you have some to use.
• Other than lime zest, orange or lemon could be used. Other extracts such as almond, coffee or rum can be used in place of the vanilla. Spices can be added...cinnamon, star anise, chili peppers or ginger (try grated fresh ginger, or finely chopped candied ginger).
• If you keep these bars well wrapped they can last for 2 - 3 days...unless they are eaten before that!
• Serve the bars with ice cream or whipped cream, and some fresh fruit as a dessert.
• Christmas is just around the corner, and these would make a lovely hostess gift, dusted with icing sugar or drizzled with melted chocolate. There are a lot of beautiful cookie tins and boxes available in stores for this purpose.