Beautifully Decadent (Beautifully Damaged Book 3) (50 page)

Avery’s Cheesecake

2.5 lbs. of cream cheese at room temperature

1 ¾ cups sugar

3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

Zest of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 orange

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 jumbo eggs

2 jumbo egg yolks

¼ cup whipping cream

9-inch springform pan, bottom lined generously with butter and patted with graham cracker crumbs

Heat oven to 500°F. Prepare springform pan. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, orange and lemon zests and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs and yokes, beating in one at a time, and finally the cream.

Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200-225°F and bake for one hour longer.

Turn oven off and allow cake to cool in oven with door open for about 20 minutes. Take cake out and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.

Avery’s Oil Olive/Lavender Cake with Citrus Glaze

For cake…

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ¾ cups sugar

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil

1 ¼ cups whole milk

3 large eggs

1 ½ tablespoons culinary-grade lavender

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a deep (2 inches at least) 9-inch pan. Parchment paper bottom.

Using a spice grinder, pulse the lavender until ground. Add to sugar, blending until combined.

In a bowl, combine the flour, lavender-sugar, salt, baking soda and powder. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the olive oil, milk and eggs. Add the dry ingredients to wet and whisk until combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden and inserting a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.

Run knife around edges and turn cake onto cooling rack.

Citrus Glaze

1 ¼ cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 ½ tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Whisk together ingredients and drizzle over top of cooled cake.

Thank you to my beta readers, Ana Kristina, Kimmy, Meredith, Lauren, Michelle, Amber, Helen, Lynnette, Sue, Alyse, Cass, Ailyn, Sarah, Donna, Beth, Markella, Dawn, Andie, Raj and Audrey for taking the time to read and give feedback on Rafe and Avery’s story. I love interacting with you and love that you are all over the world and still we’ve been brought together by the love of books. Thank you!

To my friend, Benjamin Cornelius, thank you for the carriage house sketches. They add the perfect touch this story.

Melissa Stevens, the Illustrated Author, you rock. The formatting of the paperback is awesome and the typeset graphics are perfect, again. Thank you!

Trish Bacher, Editor in Heels, your attention to the fine detail is incredible. Thank you for your copy editing expertise, as always, you’re amazing.

Murphy Rae of Indie Solutions, I adore the cover.

Amber Russell, you totally nailed the title. Thank you.