Wedding Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  Beat the egg whites in the medium-sized bowl with a hand mixer on HIGH until the whites form frothy, soft peaks. Soft peaks are achieved if, when you remove the beaters from the egg whites, the peaks droop over a bit, but do not slide all the way back into the bowl. When you have frothy soft peaks, set the bowl with the egg whites aside on the counter.

  Give the bowl with the melted white chocolate another stir and then SLOWLY pour the contents into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly to make sure that the egg yolks don’t cook and solidify from the heated white chocolate. Take your time with this. This step is critical.

  When the melted white chocolate has been successfully added to the egg yolk mixture, pick up the bowl with the beaten egg whites.

  Add several Tablespoons of the warm egg yolk and white chocolate mixture to the bowl of frothy egg whites. Fold the mixture in with a rubber spatula. This will temper the mixture.

  Add the frothy egg whites to the rest of the egg yolk and white chocolate mixture in the large bowl, folding the egg whites in gently with a rubber spatula. Do not stir with a spoon. Your object is to fold in the egg whites and keep as much froth and air in the resulting mixture as you possibly can.

  Divide the completed white chocolate soufflé mixture between the 6 individual soufflé dishes.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you prefer, you can use a 2-quart glass bowl instead of the individual soufflé dishes. Simply butter the inside of the bowl and coat it with sugar.

  Bake your individual soufflés at 425 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes. If you used the 2-quart glass bowl to hold your soufflé, bake it at 425 degrees F. for 25 to 35 minutes. Your soufflé is done when the top cracks open and a long wooden skewer or cake tester inserted in the center of the soufflé comes out clean.

  Anne Elizabeth’s Note: I prefer my soufflé gooey in the middle and will often scoop it out into individual bowls with a large serving spoon and serve it with sweetened whipped cream and berries.

  To serve your soufflé, either do it as Anne Elizabeth does by scooping it into individual bowls at the table and adding sweetened whipped cream and berries, or put on another topping of your choice, or . . .

  If you serve your soufflés in individual soufflé dishes, pull the soufflés apart in the middle with two forks at the table to expose the warm soft center. Then either spoon on the topping yourself or let everyone pour as much sauce and/or berries as they wish on their soufflé.

  Yield: 6 yummy individual soufflés or 6 helpings in dessert dishes. These are light, airy, and rich. It’s a dessert that both adults and children will love.

  VANILLA NUTMEG SAUCE

  ½ teaspoon white (granulated) sugar

  teaspoon salt

  ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

  cup flour (not sifted)

  1 cup whole milk

  1 cup heavy cream

  additional cup of heavy cream

  2 beaten eggs

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  1 ounce ( stick) salted butter

  Combine the sugar, salt, nutmeg, and flour in a saucepan off the heat. Stir well.

  Gradually stir in the milk and ONE CUP ONLY of the heavy cream. Leave the remainder of the heavy cream ( cup) on the counter to warm to room temperature. You will add that later, after your sauce has been cooked.

  Blend the ingredients in the saucepan together off the heat.

  Turn the burner on MEDIUM HIGH heat and cook the contents of the saucepan, stirring constantly until thickened. (This takes about 10 minutes on my stovetop.)

  Remove the saucepan from the heat, but LEAVE THE BURNER ON.

  Break the eggs into a small bowl and quickly beat them with a whisk until they’re well mixed.

  Stir several Tablespoons of the hot mixture into the bowl with the eggs. Whisk until it’s incorporated.

  SLOWLY pour the eggs into the saucepan with the hot mixture, whisking it all the while.

  Return the saucepan to the heat and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is very thick.

  Remove the saucepan from the heat (you can turn off the burner this time). Add the vanilla, stirring it in quickly.

  Add the ounce of butter and stir it in until it’s melted.

  Let the mixture cool until it is slightly warmer than lukewarm. Then stir in the third cup of heavy cream. Pour the sauce into a pitcher so that you can serve it with your soufflé.

  Yield: enough Vanilla Nutmeg Sauce to serve over 6 individual soufflés.

  MILK CHOCOLATE SAUCE

  1 cup whole milk

  1 cup heavy cream

  additional cup of heavy cream at room temperature

  ½ cup white (granulated) sugar

  6 ounces (by weight, not volume) milk chocolate chips (I used a 6-ounce package of Nestle Milk Chocolate Chips)

  2 large eggs, beaten

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  1 ounce ( stick) salted butter

  Combine the milk, ONE CUP ONLY of heavy cream, and sugar in a heavy saucepan off the heat. Let the additional third cup of heavy cream sit on the counter to warm to room temperature.

  Heat the mixture over MEDIUM HIGH heat on the stove, stirring constantly until little whiffs of steam start to escape and you think it’s about to boil.

  Pull the saucepan from the heat, but don’t turn off the burner. This next step will take only a moment or two.

  Add the milk chocolate chips to the sweet milk and cream mixture, stirring them in until they’re melted.

  Give the beaten eggs a final stir and add approximately 2 Tablespoons of the chocolate mixture to the eggs, stirring it in quickly. (This is called tempering and it’s important—without it you could have scrambled eggs.)

  Off the heat, SLOWLY pour the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture in the saucepan, stirring all the while. When everything is incorporated, put the saucepan back on the heat.

  Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a full boil. (This took about 3 minutes for me on my stove.) Pull the saucepan off the heat and this time you can turn off the burner.

  Quickly stir in the vanilla. Then stir in the butter and continue to stir until the butter is melted.

  Let the mixture cool on the counter for five minutes and then stir in the third cup of heavy cream.

  Pour the Milk Chocolate Sauce into a pitcher and serve it with your White Chocolate Soufflés.

  Yield: Enough Milk Chocolate Sauce for 6 individual soufflés or one large soufflé.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hannah was so tired when she got off the plane, she could barely keep her eyes open. They’d stayed up late celebrating on their heated patio, and the stress of the first night’s competition, coupled with the relief and euphoria she’d felt when Team Swensen had been declared the winner, had led to a night filled with both joyful and stressful dreams.

  Now it was time to get off the plane, and Hannah stepped out into the aisle so that Ross could open the overhead bin and take out their carry-on luggage.

  “Thank you for flying with us, Miss Swensen,” the stewardess said when she beckoned Hannah toward the door. “Congratulations. I watched the competition and my husband and I were hoping you’d win.”

  For a moment Hannah was speechless. She hadn’t realized that the stewardess had watched the Dessert Chef Competition.

  “Thank you!” she said quickly to cover her surprise. “I’m really thrilled that the competition is coming to my hometown.”

  The stewardess leaned closer and lowered her voice so that it couldn’t be overheard by the others standing in line behind Hannah. “My friend at the desk says there’s a whole contingent of people from Lake Eden waiting for you at baggage claim with signs, and balloons, and bouquets of flowers. She said the baggage guy said there’s even a squad of cheerleaders there from Jordan High in Lake Eden.”

  Hannah knew she must have looked shocked, because the stewardess laughed. “Don’t worry. I told her to snag you when you and your party come down the Jetway. She’ll show
you another way out and someone will collect your baggage for you.”

  “That’s . . . very thoughtful,” Hannah said, wondering if they did this sort of thing often.

  “No problem. We do it all the time with celebrities. Sometimes they want to avoid the fans and just get in their limo and go home.”

  “But I’m not a celebrity!”

  “You are to them. And you were on national television. And you’ll have even more fans if you win the entire competition. You might even get your own baking show and then you’ll be a celebrity dessert chef.”

  “Oh my! I didn’t even think of that!” Hannah drew a deep breath and let it out again. “Thank you for being so thoughtful about the other way out and everything, but the people that are waiting for me are probably family and friends. They’re going to be really disappointed if I don’t show up at the baggage claim carousel.”

  “You really are nice,” the stewardess said, motioning Hannah toward the door of the plane. “Most celebrities don’t want to be bothered.”

  “I heard that,” Ross said, grinning as he handed her the smallest carry-on. “Eat it up, Hannah. You and Michelle deserve the acclaim. We’ll be ready to shoot some really good footage.”

  As Hannah walked up the Jetway, she knew she was wearing a puzzled expression. She wasn’t a celebrity . . . was she? She’d have to ask Ross later, when they were alone. He’d know, one way or the other. She really wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a celebrity. She was perfectly happy being Michelle and Andrea’s sister, Ross’s bride-to-be, Moishe’s human mommy, Delores Swensen’s daughter, and owner of The Cookie Jar with her partner, Lisa. Anything other than that was an unknown position that she wasn’t sure she wanted to explore.

  “Welcome home, Hannah!” Mayor Bascomb was the first to greet her when they arrived at the baggage carousel.

  Hannah put on her best smile, just as Ross had told her to do. “Thank you, Mayor Bascomb,” she said in a clear voice. “I’ll be so very glad to be back at home in Lake Eden again, and I know that Michelle feels the same way.”

  “I do! We’re so excited about bringing the Food Channel Dessert Chef Competition home with us, Mayor Bascomb.”

  It was Hannah’s turn to speak and she picked up right on cue. They’d rehearsed it while they were waiting for the cart to drive them down to baggage claim.

  “I just know that everyone involved in the competition will love Lake Eden,” Hannah said, hoping that she sounded sincere. She’d overheard Chef Duquesne refer to Lake Eden as a one-horse town that didn’t even have a decent restaurant, and Gloria Berkeley had referred to Hannah’s hometown as Hayseed Central, but she certainly didn’t want to think of that now.

  “Almost everyone in town will be coming to the competition,” Mayor Bascomb said, turning toward the camera that was trained on him. “Chef Sally Laughlin put the tickets up for sale right after KCOW-TV aired their coverage and she told me that they were sold out within 10 minutes!” He turned to Hannah. “Everyone in town wants to see you win, Hannah. Can you give us a clue about what you’ll be baking for your first entry?”

  Ross and Michelle had prepared her for this question, and Hannah fielded it just the way they wanted her to. “It’s a surprise, Mayor Bascomb, but I can tell you this . . .” Hannah paused for the required silent count of three, and then she continued. “It’s something that Ross and I will be serving at our wedding reception.”

  “But that could be anything, Hannah.”

  Hannah gave the slightly impish smile that she’d practiced in front of the mirror in the ladies’ room closest to the gate. “I know. And you’ll know too . . . along with everyone else at the competition.”

  The Jordan High band was there and they played something that Hannah didn’t recognize. Later, after they were in the limo on the way back to her condo, she’d ask Michelle if she knew what song it was. Then Mayor Bascomb gave a short speech which, in Hannah’s opinion, could have been even shorter, to welcome them home.

  All four of them, Hannah, Ross, Michelle, and P.K., gave collective sighs of relief as they climbed into the limo and the driver pulled away from the airport. That was when a most unwelcome thought occurred to Hannah and she turned to Ross with a question.

  “You don’t think there’ll be another welcoming committee waiting for us at my condo . . . do you?”

  Ross shook his head. “No one except Norman, Cuddles, Moishe, Mike, and Lonnie.”

  “I knew Norman would be there with Moishe and Cuddles. But why will Mike and Lonnie be there?”

  “Because I called and asked them to keep out anyone who doesn’t live in your complex. I didn’t think you’d want to deal with another official welcoming committee.” Ross paused and frowned slightly. “Was I wrong, Hannah?”

  “Oh, no! You were absolutely right!” Hannah gave a big sigh of relief. It was wonderful to have the man she loved looking out for her. “Thank you, Ross,” she added quickly. “That was very thoughtful of you.”

  Ross looked slightly embarrassed by her praise. “Actually, it wasn’t my idea. Norman thought you wouldn’t want to deal with any more obligations once you got home. He told me he thought you’d want to relax and get some sleep before tomorrow’s practice session. As a matter of fact, he said he’d bring Chinese takeout for dinner.”

  “That’s nice of him,” Hannah said, hoping the takeout meal wouldn’t turn into a dinner party.

  “I can only stay long enough to help with your luggage,” Ross told her. “P.K. and I have to go back to the station to start editing our footage from New York. KCOW is going to run my interviews with the contestants and judges right before the competition begins. Then we’ll go to a live feed of the actual program from the Lake Eden Inn.”

  “Oh. Okay,” Hannah responded, giving him a smile even though she wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved that she wouldn’t be spending another late evening with Ross.

  “You, or me?” Michelle asked as Hannah unlocked the door to her condo.

  “Or me?” Ross added. “I’ll drop these suitcases if you want me to do it.”

  “I’ll do it,” Hannah said, stepping back a foot or two. “I’m his mommy.”

  Michelle stood to the side and opened the door as Hannah braced herself. The moment the door opened, a ball of orange and white fur hurtled out to land squarely in Hannah’s arms.

  “Oof!” she said, involuntarily. And then she leaned down to rub her nose against Moishe’s soft fur. “Were you a good boy while I was gone?”

  “Rrrrow!”

  Moishe looked up at her expectantly as she carried him to his favorite perch on the back of the living room couch, and she turned to head for the kitchen to get a few of his favorite salmon-flavored, fish-shaped kitty treats.

  “He was very good,” Norman said, handing her the canister before she could take a step. “And so was Cuddles.”

  Hannah glanced down at the middle couch cushion, the one that no one ever used unless they had a crowd of visitors. Cuddles was there, stretched out in comfort. Norman’s cat was looking up at her expectantly and she was purring loudly.

  Hannah shook some treats out of the canister and doled them out to the two cats. Then she turned back to Ross, who was standing in the doorway with the suitcases. “Just put them down anywhere, Ross. Michelle and I will move them later. Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to stay for something to eat?”

  “I want to, but I can’t. P.K. and I have to put in at least another five or six hours to clean up that footage.” He walked over and took Hannah in his arms. “Have a nice meal and then get some sleep. You have to really nail it tomorrow in front of the hometown crowd.”

  Hannah drew a deep breath. She hadn’t been a bit anxious before Ross had spoken. Now, all the uncertainties came rushing back, flying into her mind on strong wings of doubt. Was it too theatrical to wear the circlet of pearls and the short veil that Andrea had picked up for her in the bridal shop at the Tri-County Mall? Would the judges think she was usi
ng her upcoming nuptials to gain an unfair advantage over the other contestants?

  “Here. I’ll put this back where it belongs,” Norman said, taking the treat canister from Hannah’s hand. “Go sit down, girls. The cats want to sit in your laps. I poured glasses of white wine for both of you. Your dinner is in the refrigerator and there’s plenty of shrimp for Moishe and Cuddles. I’ll be in the kitchen reheating our meal if you need me.”

  Hannah glanced at the coffee table in front of the couch. Two glasses of wine were waiting for them. Suddenly she felt much better and her anxiety actually started to abate as she gave Ross a hug, sent him on his way, and walked over to take her customary place.

  “Nice!” she said, taking a sip of the wine. “I don’t know much about wine, but I do know this isn’t Chateau Screwtop from CostMart. What is it, Norman?”

  “I don’t remember, but I’ll bring the bottle to the table so you can look at it when you and Michelle have your dinner. I called to ask Sally what to buy, and she recommended it.”

  “No wonder it’s good!” Michelle said. “Sally and Dick really know their wines.”

  Hannah agreed. “Yes, they do, and so does Brooke. She was talking about the wine list at her brother’s restaurant last night.” Hannah stopped speaking as she remembered the curious way that Norman had worded his last comment. He’d said when you and Michelle eat, not when we eat. “Aren’t you joining us for dinner, Norman?” she asked.

  “I thought you’d be too tired for company,” Norman said. “I was planning to take Cuddles home and fixing something for myself later.”

  “But that’s ridiculous!” Hannah said immediately. “You’re right about how tired I am. And it’s true that I’m too tired for company, but you’re not company. You’re . . . well . . . you’re family.”

  Norman looked a bit uncertain. “Are you sure, Hannah? I know you probably want to discuss tomorrow night’s competition with Michelle. Are you sure I won’t be in the way?”