by Kate Bell
“Okay,” I said.
“How did Thad’s proposal go?”
I smiled. “Fantastic. He took her skiing and when they got to the bottom of a hill, there was a snowman that was decked out with flowers and a ring. Very novel, if you ask me.”
“Good for them,” he said. “And the wedding date?”
“Not decided on yet. But I’m sure it will be soon.”
“Good for him. At least Thad knows what he’s doing in the love department.”
“Stop it,” I said.
Love was a funny thing. It gave life to some, and death to others. I didn’t think I would ever understand it.
Author’s Notes
I felt kind of bad for Allie when she made the mistake about Alec’s intentions on Valentine’s Day. She may have been ambivalent about dating him in the beginning, but now she’s crazy in love the guy. We’ll have to wait and see how their relationship progresses once she gets over her embarrassment.
I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day. I loved grammar school parties with the exchanging of Valentine’s cards. It was a wonderful time and was great fun. And then there’s all that chocolate. What’s not to love?
Don’t forget to check out the recipes at the end of this book. And, if you’d like to receive updates on the next book, follow me!
https://www.facebook.com/Kathleen-Suzette-Kate-Bell-authors-759206390932120/
CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY LAYER CAKE
CAKE
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
FILLING
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
FROSTING
16 ounces dark chocolate chips or baking bar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp raspberry liqueur
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease three 8 inch round cake pans with butter, and sprinkle with flour. Layer parchment paper in bottoms of pans.
Cake
Mix dry cake ingredients on a large bowl. Melt the butter. In a stand mixer, slowly mix melted butter into dry ingredients. Slowly add in milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix an additional 30 seconds. Do not over beat.
Divide batter equally among three prepared pans and place in oven. Bake 30-35 minutes. Layers are done when they spring back when touched. Remove to cooling racks to cool at least 20 minutes before inverting them onto cooling racks. Allow to cool completely while preparing filling and frosting.
Filling
Place all filling ingredients into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat, stirring. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and allow to thicken, approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Frosting
Melt dark chocolate chips or bar in a double boiler over low heat until melted. Slowly add heavy cream and mix until well combined. Add liqueur and stir until incorporated. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
To assemble:
Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about half of the raspberry filling to about 1/2 inch from the edge of the cake layer. Place a second cake layer over bottom layer. Spread more raspberry filling to 1/2 inch of this cake layer’s edge. Place third layer cake over second layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. More filling can be spooned around edges if needed. Cover.
LEMON POUND CAKE
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tbsp grated lemon zest
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Grease a bundt cake pan with butter and sprinkle with flour, or spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Mix dry ingredients on a large bowl, set aside. In a stand mixer bowl, cream softened butter and sugar together until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time until well mixed. Add buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest and sour cream until well mixed.
Slowly add in dry ingredients until well mixed. Do not over beat. Pour into bundt pan and place in oven. Bake for 65-75 minutes or until a knife inserted into cake comes out clean. Allow to cool on cooling rack for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack to finish cooling.
Glaze
Mix all ingredients are smooth. Drizzle the cake with icing and serve.
ORANGE SCONES
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup butter, cold
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp grated orange zest
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
Glaze
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Stir together dry scone ingredients. Cut cold butter into dry ingredients and work in until butter resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly mix in buttermilk, orange juice and beaten egg. Knead dough five or six times and roll out onto floured surface and shape into a rectangle.
With a sharp knife, cut into 24 triangles. Transfer triangles onto parchment lined pan and bake 16-18 minutes, just until down and edges are only slightly browned. Remove from oven and place on cooling racks.
Mix glaze ingredients in large mixing bowl. Spread over cooled scones.
Strawberry Surprise Killer
A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery
by
Kate Bell
Kathleen Suzette
Copyright © 2016 by Kate Bell. All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination, or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Author’s Notes
Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes
Strawberry Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
Chapter One
May 27th dawned clear and bright. We traveled almost two hours to Sanford, Maine to compete in their annual Strawberry Festival Marathon. Alec drove while I dozed with a box of strawberry cupcakes
in my lap. I, Allie McSwain, pastry baker extraordinaire, was running my first marathon and a marathon had never looked so terrifying. My best friend Lucy Gray and her husband Ed followed behind us in their car. The festival drew people from all over Maine, New Hampshire, and beyond and I figured I should make the most of it by renting a booth and selling my wares.
"You awake?" Alec asked with his sexy Maine accent.
I smiled but didn't open my eyes. "I love your accent. Have I ever told you that?"
He chuckled. "Maybe a time or two. We'll be there in about five minutes. You better open your eyes."
I groaned. I trained for this marathon for over a year, but now that the day was here, I was having serious doubts. I had intended to run the distance of 26.2 miles at least twice while in training, but it hurts to run that far. Yes, I wimped out, and I hoped I wouldn't regret it.
Right about now I was thinking I should have started with a half marathon, but I'm a Southern girl by birth and we don't do small. Besides that, we had registered and paid the entrance fee six months earlier. It was too late to cancel without forfeiting the money.
"I think I need a cupcake," I said, opening my eyes and sitting up. I could smell them through the closed box and I wasn't sure I could hold off much longer. Each cupcake had a dollop of strawberry filling and cream cheese in the center. Strawberry perfection.
"You've already eaten. You need to hold off," Alec said. His eyes were on the road, but he had a smirk on his lips.
I snorted. I never waited for food.
I took in the sights as Alec pulled into the fairgrounds. Booths lined a meandering sidewalk path down the middle of the fairgrounds, along with bounce houses and a huge blow-up slide for the kiddies. I could smell barbecues firing up and see huge silver pots set up for crab boils. My mouth watered. I wondered if we could skip the marathon and sit around eating all day instead.
"When we're done with the marathon, I am going to eat myself silly," I promised.
"That sounds like a plan," Alec said. "But aren't you worried about the calories?"
Alec was a tease.
"Calories schmalories. I'll burn a million of them running the marathon," I assured him. "Which booth are we?"
"Twenty-one," he said, pulling up to the back of the booth. An awning stretched across the top of the booth and a Maine flag was stuck in the corner.
I jumped out of the SUV as soon as we came to a stop and headed to the booth. The tabletop was bare wood and once it was covered with a tablecloth, it would be perfect for setting out the cupcakes. There were two folding chairs leaning against the booth and an outlet for electrical items. I had brought a small cash box and hoped I would have plenty of use for it.
The festival ran for a week and included the Memorial Day holiday. There would be large crowds looking for all kinds of strawberry things to buy, and it was the perfect opportunity to showcase my baked goods.
"Does the booth pass muster?" Alec asked, getting out of the car.
"It does," I said and set down the box of cupcakes. Other people were unloading trucks and cars into booths and I took in the sights. I had been to the Strawberry Festival several times, but that was more than ten years earlier and I had never been a vendor before. The weather was beautiful, and the atmosphere was festive and I was glad we were attending.
Lucy and Ed pulled their silver Volkswagen up next to Alec's car and parked.
"What do you make of it?" Lucy asked when she got out of the car. She had dyed her hair pink, and it peeked out from beneath the white baseball hat she wore.
"I think it looks good," I said. "We need to spread out those tablecloths."
"Got it," Ed said, picking up the folded red and white checked tablecloths I had brought.
Lucy took one from him and handed me an end, and we spread it out over the top of the table. There was a light breeze, threatening to blow the tablecloth off the table, so I put the box of cupcakes on top to hold it in place.
"Where do you want these?" Alec asked, carrying three more boxes of cupcakes.
"Space them out so they'll hold down the tablecloth," I said.
I brought brochures and business cards advertising my website and the fact that I sold baked goods at Henry's Home Cooking Restaurant in Sandy Harbor. I supposed not many people would make a two-hour drive for cupcakes, but I hoped someone might need a large order for a wedding or business event. If I could get a large enough order, I'd make the drive and deliver them myself.
"I need one of those cupcakes," Lucy said, lifting the lid on the box and inhaling. "I don't know how you come up with all the tasty desserts you make."
"There are mini cupcakes in that box over there," I said, pointing to the box. "We'll give those away so people can sample them and hopefully it will entice them to buy lots of regular sized ones."
Lucy helped herself to a mini cupcake, and I grabbed one, too.
"Mm," I groaned. I had outdone myself on these cupcakes. The cream cheese in the center was perfect with the strawberry filling.
"You can say that again," Lucy said, popping the second half of her mini cupcake into her mouth. "There may not be any sample cupcakes to give away if I'm not careful."
"We need to go check in and get our race bibs, Allie," Alec said. "How are you feeling?"
"Butterflies," I replied. My stomach felt like someone had released a cage full of squirrels in it and they were happy to be there. I had eaten before I left home and I had a handful of gels in case I got hungry along the route, but I wasn't sure how well I would do. It seemed like race day had come all too soon.
"Great. That means you're ready," Alec said. "Sugary cupcakes aren't going to do you any good. If you have to eat, try this." He handed me a strawberry protein bar.
I narrowed my eyes at him. My Alec was tall, dark and handsome, and true to his name, he was a smart aleck.
"I need to hit the ladies room before we go," I said, looking around. In my mind, I pictured myself desperately needing a bathroom and not being able to find one along the route. I dreaded having to drop my drawers in front of hundreds of innocent bystanders. It was inhumane.
"Over there," Alec said, pointing to a large building. "And there will be plenty of porta-potties along the race route. They've got you covered."
"That's a relief," I muttered.
We headed over as a stream of people wearing running gear went in and out of the bathrooms. My stomach dived bombed again, and I hoped I would make it.
I got in line with the female runners and waited my turn. Women around me chatted happily as if we were all about to hit Macy's for their semi-annual lingerie sale. Was I the only person making herself sick with worry? I scanned the faces and caught sight of a woman that looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had long blond hair tied up with a braided pink shoestring and looked a little green around the gills. I smiled. A kindred spirit. I decided to stick close to her. Misery loves company, after all.
After I took care of business, I met Alec out in front of the bathrooms. Why is it that the line to the men's room moves at warp speed while the line for the ladies' room crawls at a snail's pace?
"Feeling okay?" he asked when I got to him.
I nodded.
"Let's go, then," Alec said.
We found the check-in booth and got in another line. People took their time, even though it was only forty-five minutes to start time, and I sighed. I hated waiting under normal circumstances, but add in my nervous energy and it was excruciating.
"We'll make it," Alec said, reading my mind.
"I have no patience for people just standing around. Look at them up there. It's like they're window shopping or something."
Alec looked at me. "Settle down there, Seattle Slew. We'll get there."
"Don't compare me to a horse," I warned. The nerves I was experiencing surprised me. I thought I would be excited and raring to go, not a bundle of nerves and ready to back out.
"When we get our race bibs, I'll be going up to the first corral. You
'll be in the last corral since you've never raced before," he informed me. "Horses."
"What? What do you mean?" I asked, turning to him. "You're leaving me alone?"
"I told you that," he reminded me.
"No, you did not," I assured him. I couldn't remember him mentioning it before, but I couldn't swear that he hadn't.
"I did," he said calmly. "Corrals are set up by previous race times and you have no previous race times. Therefore, you will be in the last corral. We don't want you getting trampled by faster runners."
"I don't want to run by myself. I realize you'll run faster than I will, but I want you by my side when we start."
"You'll be fine, Allie," he said. "I promise. And if we do this often enough and if you run fast enough, one day you'll be in the big kids’ corral just like me."
I breathed out hard. I loved this man, but some days he was difficult.
Chapter Two
Alec was right. There were porta-potties all along the racecourse. I knew because, by mile twenty-one, I had made five stops. It seemed the race gels designed to keep my flagging energy up didn't agree with me. It didn't matter, though. I couldn't feel much of my body by the twenty-first-mile marker, anyway. My feet and legs were lumps of numbness and I was afraid if I stopped to wonder how they were still moving, I would fall flat on my face. I couldn't remember why I had thought running a marathon was a good idea.