by Sherri Bryan
3 oz cheddar cheese, mature or mild, whatever you prefer
6 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated. (This is for the topping, but if you don’t like Parmesan, use another cheese, eg; Cheddar, Mozzarella, Gruyere or Fontina)
6oz breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons salt, plus salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Scatter the salt over the aubergine slices and put them into a colander. Leave over a bowl for about ½ hour, after which, there will be an amount of liquid in the bowl. Throw the liquid away and rinse the slices under running water to remove any excess salt. Pat dry with kitchen paper.
NOTE: The point of this is to remove any bitterness from the aubergine. Sometimes I forget to factor this stage into my recipe, so I leave it out if I’m running short of time, but the end result is better when I have the time to do it).
Heat oven to 190ºC/375ºF.
Butter an ovenproof dish. Ideally, you want a dish that can take two layers of sauce, spinach, cheese and aubergine slices, but if you only have a dish that will only fit one layer in, that will be okay.
Put a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of whichever spinach you are using, on the bottom of the dish.
Sprinkle half the mozzarella and half the cheddar on the top.
Place half the aubergines on top of the cheese, and then repeat with a layer of tomato sauce, a layer of spinach, a layer of mozzarella and cheddar and finally, a layer of aubergine slices.
Cover the aubergine slices with tomato sauce.
Mix the Parmesan with the breadcrumbs and cover the top of the tomato sauce.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, until the aubergines are cooked and the Parmesan and breadcrumb topping is brown and crisp.
Homemade Tomato Sauce
This is the easiest sauce to make, but it helps if you have a blender – either the stick or jug type or a Mouli blender. If you don’t have any of these, you could use a potato masher, but the end result won’t be as smooth.
If you don’t want to use garlic, leave it out, and if you want to add a teaspoon of your favourite herbs, please do. The only reason I don’t is because I usually add the herbs to whatever I’m cooking. I always add garlic though, regardless of whether it’s in my main ingredients or not … in my opinion, you can’t have too much of it!
Ingredients
2 lbs ripe tomatoes, the squashier, the better!
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic
2 level teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 level teaspoon sugar
Water
Method
You can either cook this on the hob, or in the oven. If you want to use the oven, preheat it to 180ºC/350ºF.
Cut the tomatoes in half, or leave them whole if they are very ripe. If you’re using the oven, put them in a large ovenproof dish or on a baking sheet lined with foil. If you’re using the hob, put them into a large non-stick saucepan or deep non-stick frying pan.
Sprinkle the tomatoes with the salt, pepper and sugar and drizzle the oil over the top. Throw the garlic cloves (if using) into the dish or saucepan. No need to cut or crush them, as everything is going to be blended together later.
Put the tomatoes in the middle of the oven and cook for about an hour, until they have become soft and the skins have started to come away from the flesh.
or
Cook in the pan over a medium heat until the tomatoes have broken down and the skins have come loose.
Whether you use the oven or hob method, the tomatoes need to cook until the entire tomato has become soft.
Allow to cool.
Blend until smooth, adding a little water to loosen the sauce if necessary.
Check for seasoning and use as desired.
Panna Cotta with Poached Rhubarb and Honey
Serves 6
Ingredients
1/3 cup skimmed milk
1 x 0.25 oz packet vegetarian gelatine
10 fl oz double cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 oz white sugar (for the Panna Cotta)
2 teaspoons white sugar (for the rhubarb)
1lb rhubarb
4oz caster sugar
Honey for drizzling
Method
Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatine powder. Set aside.
In a saucepan, stir together the double cream and sugar, and heat over a medium setting.
Bring to a simmer, being careful not to allow the cream to boil. Remove from the heat.
Pour the gelatine and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual, lightly oiled, ramekin dishes.
Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the Panna Cotta is firm – overnight is best.
To poach the rhubarb
You can poach the rhubarb in a pan on the hob if you prefer, but this method gives me the best results.
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF.
Wash and trim any leaves from the rhubarb. Dry and cut them into pieces (about 2” long).
Spread the pieces out in a large roasting pan and scatter two teaspoons of sugar over the top. Cover the pan with a sheet of foil, crimping the edges tightly to keep in the heat and the steam).
Bake for 20 minutes, and then check the rhubarb. (Take care when removing the foil that you avoid the cloud of steam that will billow out). The rhubarb pieces should be soft enough for a knife to go through, but not so soft that they’ve collapsed into a mush.
Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool, with the foil lid on.
To serve, run a knife around the top (inside) of the ramekin and turn the Panna Cotta onto a plate. Put some rhubarb pieces and a pool of syrup on the side and drizzle the Panna Cotta with honey.
NOTE: If you have trouble getting the Panna Cotta out, dip the ramekin into hot water for a few seconds and try again.
Mint Chocolate Cheesecake
Serves 10 portions
Ingredients
8 oz mint crisp chocolates
8 oz digestive biscuits
1 ½ packets of lemon jelly - vegetarian or non-vegetarian (7.12 oz)
3 oz butter
1 lb cream cheese - full fat is best for this recipe
½ pint/9 fl oz double cream
½ pint boiling water
Method
Grease a 9” loose-bottomed cake tin.
Crush the digestive biscuits with a quarter of the mint chocolates.
Melt the butter and stir in the crushed biscuit and chocolate mixture.
Press the mixture into the tin and chill in the fridge until firm.
Meanwhile, dissolve the jelly in boiling water and leave until almost set. The jelly needs to have a definite wobble, but not be firm enough to turn out and hold its shape.
Crush two thirds of the remaining chocolates finely, and mix together with the cheese. Then stir in the jelly.
Add half the cream to the mixture and whisk it in until the consistency becomes smooth.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and chill in the fridge until firm.
Once the cheesecake is firm, remove it from the tin and decorate with the remaining mint chocolates and the remainder of the cream, whisked until firm and piped onto the top in swirls.
Peanut Sauce
This is the easiest, most delicious, peanut sauce recipe! I always make it in a microwave, because it only takes a few minutes, but you can make it on the hob if you prefer. I make it in a half-litre jug, but any similar container will do. I can’t give exact cooking times, as all microwave ovens vary, but basically, you’re looking for a thick, pourable consistency. It’s great with fish, seafood, beef, chicken, pork, lamb or vegetarian dishes. Note: Take Care! The finished sauce holds
its heat for a while, so don’t burn your tongue!
Ingredients
2 ½ heaped tablespoons of peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
¼ beef, chicken or vegetable stock cube
1 level tablespoon sweet chilli sauce or Tabasco or chilli powder (You can leave this out if you don’t like things too spicy)
1 level tablespoon sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed or 1 level teaspoon garlic granules
A generous splash of lemon juice
Pepper to taste
Water
Method
Choose a suitable microwave container.
Put all the ingredients into the container, except the water.
Add water to just cover the ingredients in the container.
Put into microwave on full power and cook for three minutes.
Check after three minutes and stir. If the sauce needs to thicken more, cook for a minute longer and then check again.
Cook until thickened, but pourable. If the sauce is too thin, add another spoon of peanut butter and cook for a little longer. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water, stir and cook for another minute or two.
Marjorie’s Fabulous Fudge Cake
Serves 12 generous portions
Ingredients
1 ½lbs (24 oz) plain flour
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1lb (16 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa (not drinking chocolate)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 fl oz vegetable oil, plus an additional 2 tablespoons oil
16 fl oz water
1lb (16 oz) chocolate chunks or chips
To decorate;
2 lb of hazelnut chocolate spread (Yes, I know it’s a lot, but you’ve got a lot of cake to cover!) I sometimes use this for convenience, but if you’d prefer to make your own icing, there’s a recipe at the end.
Chocolate shavings from a bar of dark, milk and white chocolate
Method
Preheat oven to 180ºC/3501F.
Put everything except the chocolate spread and the chocolate shavings into a large bowl and mix together well. You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer, but whichever method you use, make sure everything is well combined.
Divide the mix between three x 8” cake tins, lined with baking paper, and bake for around 40 - 45 minutes, or until a knife or a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Spread a layer of chocolate spread on the top of the bottom cake. Put the second cake on top of it. Put a layer of chocolate spread on top of that cake, then put the third cake on top of it. Finish with a thick layer of chocolate spread on the top and around the sides of the cake.
With a vegetable peeler, make chocolate curls by shaving the peeler against the surface of a chocolate bar.
Cut yourself a big slice and enjoy!
NOTE : Because it’s usually quite hot where I live, I keep this cake in the fridge. I actually prefer it straight from the fridge - I like the way the icing firms up and becomes almost like a fondant icing.
Chocolate Icing
If you don’t want to use hazelnut chocolate spread, this is a good alternative, homemade icing.
Ingredients
1 ½lbs (24 oz) dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 fl oz evaporated milk
1 ½lbs (24 oz) icing sugar
Microwave Method
Put the chocolate chips, evaporated milk, vanilla extract and the butter into a microwave-proof bowl.
Set the microwave to cook on high power for 10 seconds. Check and stir the ingredients. Keep cooking for 10 seconds until the chocolate has just started to melt and everything combines when you give it a good stir. You shouldn’t need to cook it for longer than 30 – 40 seconds, depending on the strength of your microwave oven.
NOTE: You want to cook the ingredients until the chocolate is just beginning to melt, but it’s important not to over overcook them, or the chocolate will burn and you’ll end up with a hard, grainy mess.
Hob Method
Put the chocolate chips, evaporated milk, vanilla extract and the butter into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Melt everything together over the very lowest heat, shaking the pan to help combine the ingredients.
Give the pan a stir and when everything has melted together, take the pan off the heat and add the icing sugar.
Mix until the icing becomes smooth and spreadable.
NOTE: This icing is easiest to work with when it’s warm, so don’t make it until you’re ready to start icing the cakes, and make sure they’re completely cold, or the icing will run straight off. The icing will firm up quite quickly, so if it becomes too hard to work with, stand it in a bowl of hot water to soften up.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, and publisher, of this piece of work, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination, or are used in an entirely fictitious manner.
Whilst I have tried to be accurate throughout, for dramatic purposes, my imagination may have called for actual facts and procedures to be slightly ‘skewed’ from time to time, and I hope this will not detract from your enjoyment of the story.
Any other resemblance to organizations, actual events or actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Published by Sherri Bryan - Copyright ©2015
Note from Sherri
Hi, and thanks so much for reading Fudge Cake, Felony and a Funeral, the second of my Cozy Mystery novellas to feature reluctant amateur sleuth, Charlotte Denver.
What can I say! I enjoyed writing book two even more than I enjoyed writing book one.
If you are one of the readers who have been with me since book one, I would like to thank you for following me this far. If you are a new reader, I would like to thank you for joining me here, and suggest that you might like to read book one, which is where Charlotte makes her debut appearance, and which is free to download on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
You may, of course, read the books in any order you wish, but if you’d like to read them in the order they were written, then Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse is where to get started.
If you enjoyed the book, I would love to hear from you - as a new writer, your feedback is very important to me ... constructive criticism included! Also, if you’d like to, I’d really appreciate it if you’d leave me a review on Amazon.
As with book one, I should mention that although this book has been proofread and edited more times than I can recall, there may still be the odd mistake within its pages. If you should come across one, I’d be grateful if you could let me know so I can put it right.
You can contact me by email at [email protected], on Twitter @sbryanauthor or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sherribryanauthor. If you would like to, you can now sign up to my readers list directly from my Facebook page.
Even if you’d just like to say ‘hi’, just drop me a message and introduce yourself – I’d love for you to get in touch!
Anyway …. if you’d like to receive news about forthcoming books, along with details of free downloads from time to time, please visit my website at http://sherribryan.com, where you can also sign up to my readers’ list. Please don’t worry, I respect your privacy and I promise I won’t flood your inbox with messages, nor will I ever share your name or email address with anyone!
Tha
nks again for taking an interest in my book - I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery series.
Wishing you warm regards,
Sherri Bryan
About sherri bryan
Sherri lives in Spain with her husband and their two dogs.
She’d never even read a Cozy Mystery until 2014, when she accidentally downloaded the wrong book onto her e-reader and thought that she might as well read it anyway.
Her love of Cozy Mysteries started that day, and since then, she’s read many more, finding new authors to add to her list of favorites along the way, and enjoying the different approach and style that each author lends to their own Cozy Mystery stories.
Aside from writing, Sherri’s main interests include cooking, reading, watching crime dramas and her dogs. When she’s not tapping away on her keyboard, you’ll most likely find her in the kitchen, playing with her two rescue dogs, curled up somewhere with her nose in a book, or dreaming up new Cozy Mystery plots.
Acknowledgements
Thank you …
To everyone who downloaded, read and enjoyed book one enough to get this far in book two.
To Denise and Linda for painstakingly reading my first drafts, and for their diplomatic and constructive feedback, and encouragement.
And to Cindy who edited this book and from whom I am, hopefully, learning to be a better writer.
Credit for cover design : Miloushek