Murder in the Art Gallery (A Pet Portraits Cozy Mystery Book 1)

by Sandi Scott

  Ashley rattled off the recipe from memory. “Flour, eggs, butter, sugar—” You couldn’t get any more basic than the standard pastry and cream filling recipe. The decorative flowers came from an organic grower, free of all pesticides and herbicides, and double washed with her own hands. It couldn’t be her fault, could it?

  “Did anyone else get sick? If it was only Colleen, it must have been something she’d had before.”

  “Darlin’, I know, but we’ve got to rule out something contaminating the portion Colleen ate,” Mueller said.

  “Poisoning. You’re talking about straight-up poisoning someone,” Ashley said. “I don’t make those kinds of mistakes, especially not with a partner like Patty, who’s always gone above and beyond food safety standards.”

  Recipe: Deep Chocolate Pound Cake

  Ingredients

  2 1/2 cup unbleached flour

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  3/4 spoon fine salt

  1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 cup sour cream

  1/2 cup whole milk

  1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder – I used Pernigotti

  1/4 cup honey

  2 tablespoons boiling water

  3/4 cup sugar

  1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at rom temperature

  2 large eggs

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/2 cup Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chip

  1/2 cup dried cranberries

  1/3 cup caster sugar (optional)

  Powder sugar

  Preparation

  Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat at 350º. Butter and flour a Bundt cake pan with butter and flour, tap out the excess. Sprinkle caster sugar evenly on bottom of pan.

  Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

  Whisk sour cream and milk in a small bowl.

  Sift cocoa into a small bowl. Whisk in honey and 2 tablespoons boiling water until smooth. Cool completely.

  Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in another medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

  Beat in eggs 1 at the time, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in vanilla. Add cocoa mixture, stir until smooth, scraping down the bowl occasionally.

  Beat in flour mixture alternately with sour cream in 2 additions each until just blended.

  Stir in chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

  Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top.

  Bake until tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and cool.

  Sprinkle with powder sugar.

  Recipe from Foodista.

  Recipe: Chouquettes

  (Sugar-Topped Pastry Puffs)

  Ingredients

  1 1/2 cups water

  1 stick plus

  1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into cubes

  1 teaspoon sugar

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  8 large eggs

  Pearl sugar, for decorating

  Preparation

  Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

  In a large saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a tight dough forms and pulls away from the side of the pan, 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

  In a bowl, beat 7 eggs and add to the dough in four batches, stirring vigorously between additions until the eggs are completely incorporated and the pastry is smooth. The dough should be glossy and very slowly hang, stretch and fall from the spoon in thick ribbons. If necessary, beat in the remaining egg.

  Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe 1 1/2-inch mounds onto the baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between them. Generously sprinkle each mound with 1/2 teaspoon of pearl sugar. Bake the chouquettes for about 30 minutes, until browned and puffed, until browned and puffed, shifting the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through.

  Recipe: Chocolatini (Chocolate Martini)

  Ingredients

  2 ounces vodka

  1 1/2 ounces creme de cacao or other chocolate liqueur

  Garnish: Chocolate candy

  Garnish: Powdered cocoa for rimming

  Preparation

  Rim a cocktail glass with cocoa.

  Pour the drink ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes.

  Shake vigorously.

  Strain into the prepared glass.

  Garnish with a chocolate candy.

  Sandi’s Thoughts on the Perfect Chocolatini

  Experiment with different vodkas. It doesn’t have to be top-shelf to be great – the chocolate is forgiving. Don't forget about flavored vodkas. You can add some great flavor with a berry, coconut or coffee vodka. Citrus pairs well with chocolate as well and vanilla or any of the dessert-flavored vodkas make a nice Chocolate Martini. Get creative-you might come across something wonderful. If you do, let me know right away.