Joanne Fluke Christmas Bundle: Sugar Cookie Murder, Candy Cane Murder, Plum Pudding Murder, & Gingerbread Cookie Murder (92 page)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position

Note: Some coffee cake is more like sweet bread. Regina Todd’s is really a cake, so the cookbook committee decided to put it in the cake section.

1 cup soft butter
(2 sticks,
½
pound)

1 and ¾ cup white sugar
(granulated)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

6 eggs

3 cups flour
(no need to sift)

The Filling:

3 cups chopped fruit
(or crushed berries—the fruit can be fresh, frozen, or canned***)

¹
/
₃
cup white sugar
(granulated)

¹
/
₃
cup flour

The Crumb Topping:

½ cup brown sugar
(tightly packed)

¹
/
₃
cup flour

¼ cup softened butter
(
½
stick,
¹
/
₈
pound)

***If you choose to use drained canned fruit, make sure it’s been canned in its own juice or in water.

Grease the inside of a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular cake pan, or spray it with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix the cup of soft butter with the white sugar until it’s fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla, and baking powder. Mix thoroughly.

Add the eggs one by one, mixing after each addition.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Spoon one-half of the batter in the cake pan and spread it out with a rubber spatula. Leave the rest in the bowl for later.

The filling: In another bowl, mix the fruit, sugar, and flour.
(If you’ve used chopped apples, peaches, or pears, add
½
teaspoon cinnamon to the mix.)
Spoon the fruit mixture on top of the batter.

Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top and spread them carefully with a rubber spatula.
(The fruit doesn’t have to be covered completely—the batter on top will fill in as it bakes and the crumb topping will cover the rest.)

The crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar and the flour in a small bowl. Add the softened butter and cut it in until it’s crumbly.
(You can also do this in a food processor with chilled butter and the steel blade.)

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the pan as evenly as possible.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the coffee cake cool on a wire rack.

Andrea, Bill, and Bill’s father like this served warm, right from the pan. Regina likes it thoroughly cool.

Regina told me that one time she wanted to make this coffee cake, but she didn’t have anything in the pantry except a can of cherry pie filling. Instead of mixing the ingredients for the filling, she just dumped in the whole can of pie filling and it worked just fine.

Preheat oven to whatever it recommends on the cake mix box.

This recipe is from Andrea, who makes it for Tracey’s birthday every year. Tracey’s friends love it because it’s colorful. Andrea loves it because it’s easy and she’s the undisputed Jell-O Queen of Lake Eden.

1 package white cake mix
(1 pound 2.25 ounces)

The ingredients called for on the cake mix box

2 three-ounce packages dry Jell-O in contrasting colors

1 small tub of Cool Whip, or one can of whipped cream

Preheat the oven to the temperature it recommends on the cake mix box.

Grease and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular cake pan.

Mix up the cake using the directions on the box. Bake the cake for the required amount of time. Let the cake cool to room temperature.

When the cake has cooled, dump one package of Jell-O into a small bowl. Add one cup boiling water to the Jell-O and stir until it’s dissolved
(about one minute.)

Poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork, punching it all the way to the bottom of the cake pan. Make about 30 punches.

Pour the Jell-O evenly over the top of the cake. Give it a minute or two to sink down into the holes you punched.

Refrigerate the cake for an hour.

Prepare the second package of Jell-O, mixing the contents with 1 cup boiling water and stirring for one minute, or until it’s dissolved.

Punch more holes in the top of your cake, crisscrossing the first holes. Pour the second bowl of Jell-O liquid over the top of the cake. Give it a minute or two to sink down and then cover it with plastic wrap or foil. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours. Overnight is fine, too.

Andrea says to warn you that the top is going to look ugly and that’s why you’ll frost it with Cool Whip or whipped cream.

When it’s time to serve, “frost” your cake with Cool Whip or whipped cream and cut into square pieces.

To Make A Layer Cake:

For a truly gorgeous cake, divide the batter into two 8-inch round pans and bake it according to the package directions. Then divide the Jell-O between the two pans.

To frost, remove the cakes from the pans, use Cool Whip or whipped cream between the layers and to frost the sides and top. Everyone will ooh and ahh when you slice the cake.

Andrea made a confession to me the night of the Christmas potluck dinner. She said she doesn’t bake the cake. She buys an unfrosted sheet cake at the Red Owl, does the part with the Jell-O, and frosts it with Cool Whip. I thought about this for a few minutes and decided it’s probably a good thing.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position

4 one-ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate

1 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, melted and at room temperature

½ cup soft butter
(1 stick,
¼
pound)

2 ½ cups white sugar
(granulated)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon orange extract
(or
½
teaspoon vanilla)

2 eggs

2 cups flour
(no need to sift)

½ cup milk

1 cup chopped pecans
(or walnuts)

Grease
(or oil, or spray with non-stick cooking spray)
the inside of a Bundt pan. Dust with flour, or cocoa, knocking out the excess.

Put the chocolate and the orange juice concentrate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for one minute on high. Stir it and then heat it on high for another minute. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Set the bowl aside to cool.
(You can also do this in the top of a double boiler.)

The following steps are a lot easier if you use an electric mixer: Combine the butter and sugar, and mix until fluffy. Mix in the baking powder, salt, and orange extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Add half of the flour to the bowl. Mix thoroughly. Mix in the milk, and then add the rest of the flour.

When the chocolate mixture is cool enough to touch, add it to your bowl. Mix thoroughly. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add the nuts. Give a final mix.

Let the batter rest for several minutes, and then pour it carefully into the prepared Bundt pan.

Bake at 325 degrees F., for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the ring comes out clean.

Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 25 minutes. Loosen the cake around the outside and inside edges with a sharp knife and tip it out onto the wire rack.

Let the cake cool completely and then glaze.
(Or, if you don’t feel like making a glaze, just dust the cool cake with confectioner’s sugar.)

Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup chocolate chips

¹
/
₃
cup cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine in a microwave-safe bowl.
(I use a one-quart glass measuring cup.)
Microwave on HIGH for one minute. Stir until chocolate chips are melted. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more cream. If the glaze is too thin, add a few more chips.

Drizzle the hot glaze over the crest of the cake and let it drip down the sides.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position

This recipe is from Shirley Dubinski.

1 box yellow cake mix
(1 pound, 2.25 ounces)

One package
(4.3 ounces)
lemon pudding & pie

filling
(NOT sugar free)
***

4 Tablespoons poppy seeds

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup water

½ cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

*** You can substitute a 3.4 ounce package of Jell-O Lemon Instant Pudding and Pie Filling if you can’t find the kind of pudding you have to cook.

Grease and flour a Bundt pan.

Dump the dry yellow cake mix in a large bowl. Mix in the dry lemon pudding and pie filling. Add the poppy seeds, lemon juice, water, and oil. Mix until well-blended.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Beat 2 minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer or 3 minutes by hand.

Pour the cake batter into the Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out dry.

Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the outside edges and the middle, and tip the cake out of the pan. Let the cake cool completely on the rack.

When the cake is cool, drizzle Vanilla Glaze in ribbons on the top and down the sides.
(Or, if you don’t feel like making a glaze, just let the cake cool completely and dust it with confectioner’s sugar.)

Vanilla Glaze:

1 cup powdered
(confectioner’s)
sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 Tablespoons cream

Measure powdered sugar into a small bowl. Stir in vanilla and cream. Stir until thoroughly mixed. The glaze should be the proper consistency to drizzle over the cake. If it’s too thick, add a bit more cream. If it’s too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

Drizzle the glaze over the crest of the cake and let it drip down the sides.

Refrigerate until serving.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

A note from Hannah: Rose McDermott called to give me this recipe the day before I had to turn everything in to our editor. This has come close to convincing me that the man in the red suit with the sleigh is real. Tracey asked for seven things in her letter to Santa, and she got three of them. If she gets that puppy she wants, I’m a believer.

1 ½ cups softened butter
(3 sticks)

2 cups white (
granulated
) sugar

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream***
(you can substitute plain yogurt for a lighter cake)

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon coconut extract
(if you can’t find it, you can use vanilla)

1 ¾ cups flour
(not sifted)

2 cups flaked or shredded coconut
(pack it down when you measure it—more is better in this case)

*** Measuring sour cream is messy—it’s easier just to buy the one-cup
(half pint)
container and use the whole thing.

Generously grease
(or spray with non-stick cooking spray)
a Bundt pan. Dust it liberally with flour and knock off the excess.

Cream softened butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.
(You can mix this cake by hand, but it takes some muscle.)
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until they’re nice and fluffy. Then add the sour cream, baking powder and coconut extract.

Put the flour and the coconut in a food processor. Process with the steel blade until the mixture looks like fine cornmeal.
(You don’t have to do this if you don’t have a food processor, but most folks like it better.)

Add half of the flour/coconut mixture to the bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add the rest of the flour/coconut combination and mix until the batter is smooth.

Let the batter rest for five minutes or so. Then pour it into the Bundt pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake at 325 degrees F. for 60 to 70 minutes. The cake should be golden brown on top and a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake ring should come out clean.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 25 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of the cake to loosen it and don’t forget to loosen it around the funnel in the middle of the pan. Turn the cake out on the rack and let it cool completely.

When the cake is completely cool, glaze it with Coconut Glaze.

Coconut Glaze:

1 cup powered sugar
(confectioner’s sugar)

¼ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon coconut extract
(or
½
teaspoon coconut,
½
teaspoon vanilla)

¼ cup coconut flakes

If the powered sugar has big lumps, sift it. Otherwise, use it as it is. Put the powered sugar in a small bowl. Add the heavy cream and the coconut extract. Stir until smooth.
(If you can’t get it smooth, you may
need to heat it for thirty seconds or so in the microwave on HIGH, and then stir again.)

If the glaze is too thick to pour over the cake, thin it with a little more cream. If the glaze is too thin, thicken it with a bit more powdered sugar.

Drizzle the glaze over the crest of the cake and let it drip down the sides. Sprinkle the cake with the coconut before the glaze dries.

Mother’s been after Rose for years to use my Chocolate Glaze on this cake. (You can find it in Lady Hermoine’s (Hannah’s) Chocolate Sunshine Cake recipe.) She even took Rose the recipe. Rose liked it a lot, and now she offers two cakes, one with Coconut Glaze and the other with Chocolate Glaze.