Town in a Cinnamon Toast

by B. B. Haywood

  Once the guests had gathered around, glasses of champagne in hand (a different label, but also selected especially for their wedding day), Herr Georg explained his creation.

  “Even though it appears to be cream colored, it is,” he informed them, “actually an orange wedding cake with orange buttercream frosting. I’ve taken it from an old recipe of my mother’s, but I made a few changes to it.”

  “Did you add cinnamon?” someone from the back of the crowd asked. Candy identified the voice as belonging to Bumpy.

  “I did!” the baker said with a laugh. “Just a dash—and a few other secret ingredients as well. I can’t wait until you try it. I promise you’ve never tasted anything like it in your life!”

  The groom’s cake was there as well, which the baker fussed over. “You have done such a magnificent job!” he declared to Maggie. “My, you are a wonderful baker!”

  She nudged him. “I learned from the best.”

  The expression on the baker’s face said everything.

  They drank and sang German beer songs, opened some of their wedding gifts, and then cleared out the chairs in the barn and danced until their legs grew weary. Later, as the afternoon sun lowered in the sky, the event began to break up. Happy and satisfied, the guests started to drift away. The bride and groom thanked the reverend and his wife, Gabriella, as elegant as always. Ralph and Malcolm were weary but happy with all they’d accomplished.

  In the end, everything went off without a hitch. “Or rather,” as Maggie’s mother, Ellie, declared to all who would listen that day, “with one!”

  All agreed, as promised, that it was the social event of the season in the village of Cape Willington.

  EPILOGUE

  The Black Forest Bakery was buzzing with activity on the Tuesday morning after Memorial Day.

  Tourists who had spent the holiday weekend in town were crowding the place. Spelt apple and Bavarian rye bread, cinnamon breakfast muffins, cheese strudels, raspberry rumbles, almond and chocolate crescents, and fruit turnovers, and as well as a variety of cupcakes, cream puffs, pastries, croissants, tarts, tortes, cakes, and pretzels, were flying off the shelves. They were going so fast, Maggie could barely keep up with her restocking efforts, running back and forth to the kitchen, while Candy worked at the cash register, her fingers moving as fast as possible. Every once in a while she looked up at the line stretched before her, which seemed to keep getting longer, then pressed her lips together and turned back to her work. In the kitchen, Herr Georg did what he did best, and the smells emanating through the shop were the best evidence possible of his culinary efforts.

  By late morning the crowds began to thin a little, and the three of them finally had a chance to talk, as Herr Georg meandered out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron.

  “My, what a morning!” he exclaimed. “It seems the crowds are getting larger all the time.”

  “We might have to expand, my dear,” Maggie said, sidling up to him and hugging his arm. “I heard the place next door might be available soon. Maybe we should think about buying it, knocking out the wall, and putting the gift items on that side. It would free up some space for additional shelves in here.”

  “Hmm, yes, a wonderful idea,” the baker said. “I’ll certainly look into it.”

  The three of them hadn’t had much time to talk since the Wolfsburgers returned from their honeymoon at Niagara Falls, which they said was chilly but beautiful. They’d been busy setting up the shop, and Candy and Doc had been equally busy out at Blueberry Acres, especially in the vegetable garden, which they’d expanded shortly after the reception tent had come down. They’d also filled the hoophouse with growing plants and had cleared out a spot for their small grove of cherry trees. It was only this morning the three of them had a chance to hook up, when Maggie called the farmhouse frantically, asking for Candy’s help in manning the shop.

  For Candy, it was like old times. She’d worked in the bakery for several years, before Maggie took over her position behind the counter, and her old skills with the cash register came back easily. The aromas and atmosphere in the bakery reminded her of the years that had passed. They’d been through a lot in this village over the past six or seven years, she thought, including a number of murders, but she hoped the worst of it was behind them, and they could finally all get back to what they did best.

  She’d heard not a word from any of the Sykes family members since her encounter with them at the Whitby estate. They seemed to have holed themselves up in their mansion in Marblehead. Finn occasionally gave her a little news about the status of Scotty and Plymouth, as well as the police investigation into Porter’s possible link to the murder of Julius Seabury. But so far he hadn’t been charged, and Candy wouldn’t be surprised if he never was. He seemed to have escaped from justice once again.

  As long as he stayed far away from the village, she was fine with that.

  Her father had attended his first board meeting at the museum, and had been warmly welcomed by all. Porter Sykes had not called in during the meeting, Doc informed her when he got home, and according to Owen, had resigned his seat on the board after serving on it for nearly a decade—much to the relief of all involved, especially the museum director.

  The Whitby place was vacant again. It hadn’t sold, and Candy didn’t know if it would for a while. But there was always a chance someone “from away” would sweep in and snatch it up. That’s the way it worked sometimes along the Maine coast.

  As the three of them were talking, Candy noticed that the baker was watching her oddly, and when there was a break in the conversation, she said, “Herr Georg, is everything all right? You look pensive.”

  “I was just thinking,” he said. “It slipped my mind in all the activity of the last few weeks, but, well, it’s about those copies I still have in the safe in my office.”

  “Ahh.” Candy nodded knowingly, and she lowered her voice before she said, “The copies of those famous deeds, which were destroyed by Scotty.”

  “Yes, exactly. But unfortunately I still have them, so they’re not really gone, are they?”

  “No, but they’re safe for now, and no one knows about them except us.”

  “So what do you think we should do with them?” Herr Georg asked.

  “We’ve both been talking about it,” Maggie put in. “I think we should have a nice bonfire some night and burn them, just like Scotty did with the originals.”

  “And I tend to agree,” said the baker, “though I know they still might have some historical value. However, I’m afraid that if they get out into the open again, we’ll be right back where we were before, with the Sykes family trying to get hold of them.”

  “That’s true,” Candy said, “and those are all good points. But I’m not sure I have an immediate answer for you. I’ve thought about those copies, too, and I lean toward Maggie’s suggestion. It probably would be best to get rid of them once and for all.”

  Maggie sensed some hesitation in her friend’s tone. “But . . . ?”

  Candy shrugged. “But I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do.” She thought about it a minute. “Why don’t we do this, if it’s okay with you two? I’ll talk to Dad about it, and maybe Neil as well. And possibly even Owen, though I’m not sure I should bring him into this. Honestly, I’m still not really sure I can trust him at all. Maybe just the five of us. And we can talk it over and come to some sort of conclusion about what to do with them.”

  Herr Georg thought about it a moment, and finally nodded. “Very well. But if possible, I’d like to resolve this issue as quickly as we can. I feel like I’m holding on to a hot potato, and I don’t want it to burn my fingers.”

  Candy nodded. “I’ll try to have an answer for you in a few days.”

  “The sooner, the better,” the baker said. “The last two people who had those deeds—Miles Crawford and Julius Seabury—were both ki
lled because of them. I don’t want that to happen to me!”

  “Heaven forbid!” Maggie exclaimed, and she gave her husband a quick kiss on the cheek. “Don’t talk like that, my Kuschelbär! I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

  That made Herr Georg chuckle, and he patted her hand. “Don’t you worry, mein Liebchen. I’m not planning on going anywhere for a long, long time. By the way,” he said, turning back to Candy, “did I tell you that I had an idea for a new pastry when we were at Niagara Falls?”

  “No, you didn’t,” Candy said, glad for the change in subject. “Tell me about it.”

  “Well, after all you did to solve this most recent mystery, and in such a way that it didn’t interfere with our wedding, I thought I should create something special to commemorate your achievements over the past few years. So I’m going to create a new pastry in your honor. It’s going to be made with blueberries and cinnamon, of course, with a delectable frosting and perhaps a splash of rum. I’m going to call it the Candy Holliday Mystery Strudel!”

  They all laughed at that, and got right back to work as more customers starting coming through the door.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  The story of Silas Sykes’s land deeds, which has wound its way as an interconnected subplot through all of the books since the second one in the series, Town in a Lobster Stew, was inspired by a real-world event. In the 1990s, members of the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation in Connecticut claimed to have legal rights to eighty acres in the Golden Hill area of Bridgeport, as well as to acreage in downtown Greenwich. Although the tribe eventually lost its claim to the land, the story served as a starting point for the one appearing in the Candy Holliday Murder Mysteries. Many thanks to first reader and proofreader nonpareil Mary A. Cook and her husband Joel; Kae and Jon; Leis, Bethany, Danielle, and Katherine at Berkeley Prime Crime; Teresa Fasolino for the cover art for all the novels; Ron, Jayme, and Patti, as well as Ronnie, Lucas, and Zach for the encouragement and good company; Barbara, George, and Ruby for continued support; and, as always, Mat, James, and Noah. For more information about the Candy Holliday Murder Mysteries and Cape Willington, Maine, visit hollidaysblueberryacres.com.

  RECIPES

  Maggie and Georg’s Orange Wedding Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting

  (From an old Wolfsburger family recipe.)

  Serves 12

  Grated rind and juice of one large orange

  5 eggs

  2 cups powdered sugar

  ½ cup cold water

  2 cups flour

  2 tablespoons baking powder

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  Grease and flour 2 round 9-inch cake pans or 1 9-inch-by-13-inch rectangular baking pan.

  Into a large mixing bowl, squeeze the juice from 1 large orange.

  Grate the rind of the same orange into the bowl, mix well with the juice.

  Add eggs to the orange mixture and mix well.

  Add powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing well with a wire whisk for 10 minutes.

  Add cold water.

  Add flour and baking powder a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.

  Split batter between 2 pans or put it all in the 1 rectangular pan.

  Bake at 350 degrees for 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

  Cool cakes in pans for 20 minutes, then turn out cakes onto 2 sheets of wax paper until ready to frost.

  When the cakes are completely cooled, set one round cake on a cake plate.

  Orange Buttercream Frosting

  Makes 2½ cups frosting

  1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

  3–4 cups powdered sugar, sifted through a sieve or with a sifter

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  1 tablespoon orange extract

  Up to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream

  In a large bowl beat the softened butter.

  Mix some of the powdered sugar with the butter in the bowl.

  Add salt, orange extract, and cream. Mix for 3 minutes.

  Add more powdered sugar or cream to get the consistency you like.

  Frost the top of 1 layer; put the second layer on top.

  Frost the sides, then the top.

  For a wedding cake, this would be many tiers high and decorated with vines and flowers.

  Congratulations to the happy couple!

  Cinnamon Raspberry Flop

  Serves 8

  2 tablespoons butter

  1 cup sugar

  2 cups flour

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1 cup milk

  12 raspberries, cut in half

  4 tablespoons brown sugar

  2 tablespoons cinnamon

  Grease and dust with flour 1 pie pan.

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  In a large mixing bowl, cream the first tablespoon of butter.

  Add sugar and mix well.

  Add flour and baking powder to the mixture a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.

  Add 1 cup milk and mix well.

  Add the raspberries and mix well.

  Fold the batter into the pie pan.

  Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into 4 small pieces and dot the batter with the butter.

  In a small bowl, combine brown sugar with cinnamon.

  Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over the top of the batter.

  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

  Enjoy!

  Cinnamon Toast

  Serves 2; makes 4 large pieces of toast

  ¼ cup honey

  2 tablespoons brown sugar

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  Dash of extract—vanilla, orange, or blueberry

  Bread for toast

  Butter of choice to butter toast

  In a small saucepan, mix the honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, and dash of extract.

  Heat over low heat for 2–3 minutes until brown sugar and cinnamon are dissolved.

  Toast slices of bread in the toaster.

  Butter toast as desired and put on a plate.

  Drizzle the cinnamon mixture over the toasted buttered bread.

  A toast with cinnamon toast! Cheers!

  Chocolate Groom’s Cake

  As made by Maggie, Candy, Ellie, and Amanda.

  Serves 12

  ½ cup butter (1 stick), softened

  2 cups sugar

  2 eggs

  2 squares or 2 ounces baking chocolate, melted

  ½ cup buttermilk

  2 cups flour

  2 teaspoons baking soda

  1 cup boiling water

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  Grease and flour 2 round 9-inch baking pans or 1 9-inch-by-13-inch rectangular baking pan.

  In a large mixing bowl, mix the softened butter with the sugar. Beat until smooth.

  Add the eggs and beat until smooth.

  In a double boiler or 2 pots, 1 filled with water and a smaller pot to set inside it, melt the chocolate.

  Pour the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl and mix with the other ingredients in the bowl.

  Add the buttermilk, mix.

  Add the flour and mix well.

  Add the baking soda to 1 cup of boiling water, stir, cool slightly, and slowly add to the bowl of ingredients.

  Add the vanilla, mix well.

  Pour the batter in the pans in even amounts.

  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done, when a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

  Cool the cakes.

  Chocolate Blueberry Frosting

  1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

  3–4 cups powdere
d sugar, sifted

  1 tablespoon blueberry extract

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  2 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate

  Up to 4 tablespoons heavy cream

  In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy.

  Sift the powdered sugar and add to the butter, mixing well.

  Add the blueberry extract, mix well.

  Add salt, mix.

  Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, or use 2 pots, 1 filled with water and a smaller one with the chocolate to fit into the first.

  Pour the chocolate into the bowl and mix with the other ingredients.

  Add 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream and beat for 3 minutes, until very creamy.

  Add additional cream or powdered sugar to get the desired consistency.

  When the Chocolate Groom’s Cake is cooled, frost with the Chocolate Blueberry Frosting.

  The cakes can then be decorated with the candied flowers.

  Candied Pansies and Blueberry Blossoms

  Granulated sugar

  2 egg whites

  2 teaspoons cool water

  20–30 pansies, violas, or blueberry blossoms

  1 small, delicate paintbrush

  Cover a baking tray with sugar.

  In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and water with a fork. They will get frothy.

  With the small paintbrush, paint the blossoms on both sides with the mixture, just enough to coat them.

  Lightly sprinkle the painted blossoms with sugar. The color should show through the sparkles of the sugar.

  Dry the blossoms on a tray for 3 hours.

  The blossoms will keep in a sealed container for several months.

  Decorate the cake with the blossoms by pressing them lightly into the frosting.