Sugar And Spice (28 page)

“What?” Lisa said, coming back into the coffee shop and catching Hannah’s pensive expression.

“I think I should mix up my Pound Plus Cake,” Hannah said, letting Lisa think that was what had been on her mind. “If I bake it tonight, I can take it out to the academy and stick it in Julie’s freezer. Then she can serve it if the weather gets bad and we can’t get out there to deliver a dessert.”

“Good idea. You’d better take the frozen strawberries along too. And the whipping cream and sour cream for the crème fraîche…unless you don’t think she can whip the cream.”

Hannah thought about that for a minute and then she shrugged. “That’s a possibility. I’ll take along a couple of cans of whipped cream, just in case. And I’ll give her the instructions for thawing the berries and making the topping.”

“Sounds good to me. Bye, Hannah. Don’t work too late.”

“I won’t. Tell Herb hi for me.” Hannah saw her partner out and locked the door behind her. Then she headed for the kitchen with thoughts of marriage still on her mind.

After a quick trip to the pantry and the walk-in cooler, Hannah assembled the necessary ingredients in the order her recipe listed and got out one of her largest stainless steel mixing bowls. As she mixed the softened butter with the sugar, she decided that Julie was absolutely right. Matt did appear to be perfect for her.

Hannah added eggs to her bowl and beat them in thoroughly before she mixed in the sour cream. The baking powder and vanilla were next, and as she measured out the cake flour, she wondered what would happen between Julie and Matt when all of the kids had been put to bed for the night.

DOUBLE APPLE CRISP

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.,

rack in the middle position.

For the bottom:

8 large apples, cored, peeled, and sliced*

¾ cup white (granulated) sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ cup honey

For the topping:

1 cup flour

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick, ¼ pound) softened butter

*
I used 4 Granny Smith and 4 Fuji, but any combination will do. Half of the apples should be tart and the other half sweeter.

Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or other nonstick spray. The pan can be metal, glass, or disposable foil.

Spread the sliced apples over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle them with the white sugar and then the lemon juice.

Measure out the honey. (I always spray my measuring cup with Pam first, so the honey won’t stick to the sides as much.) Drizzle the honey over the apples.

Mix the flour, brown sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. Use a fork to work in the softened butter, stirring until you have a crumbly mixture. (You can also do this in a food processor using the steel blade and a stick of chilled butter cut into 8 pieces.)

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples in the pan.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the apples are tender when pierced with a fork and the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with whipped cream, regular cream, vanilla ice cream, or cinnamon ice cream.

Hannah’s Note: If you take this out of the oven twenty minutes or so before the meal begins, it’ll be a perfect temperature to serve for dessert. If you’re not that organized (and who is?), dish up the apple crisp and heat it in individual bowls in the microwave. It holds up very well when reheated.

It’s also good at room temperature or even cold, right out of the refrigerator. There is no wrong way to serve this Double Apple Crisp.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SWENSEN

Pound Plus Cake

The Strawberries

Hannah’s Whipped Crème Fraiche

Pound Plus Cake

WARNING: This cake must chill for at least 48 hours. Bake it 2 days before you plan to serve it. You can also bake it ahead of time, cool it, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil, and freeze it until the day before you need it. At that time, remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.

Pound Plus Cake will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months. This recipe makes two cakes. Each cake serves six people.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.,

rack in the middle position.

1½ cups softened butter (3 sticks)

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream (you can substitute unflavored yogurt for a lighter cake) ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups cake flour (DO NOT SIFT—use it right out of the box.)

Generously butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. (Don’t use Pam or spray shortening—it won’t work.)

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 vanilla. Mix it all up and then add the flour, one cup at a time, and beat until the batter is smooth and has no lumps.

Pour the batter into the pans and bake at 325 degrees F. for 45 to 50 minutes. (The cakes should be golden brown on top.)

Cool in the pans on a rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of the pans to loosen the cakes and turn them out on the rack.

After the cakes are completely cool, wrap each one in plastic wrap, sealing tightly. Wrap these packages in foil and store them in the refrigerator for 48 hours. Take them out an hour before you serve, but don’t unwrap them until you’re ready to assemble the dessert.

The Strawberries

(Prepare these several hours before you serve.)

Wash 3 boxes of berries and remove stems. (The easiest way to do this is to use a paring knife to cut off the top part of the berry.) Slice all but a dozen or so, reserving the biggest and best berries to top each portion. Taste the berries and add sugar if they’re too tart. Stir and refrigerate, covered tightly.

If you use frozen berries, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight by placing the whole package in a bowl. Test them for sweetness several hours before dessert and add sugar if they’re too tart. Stir and refrigerate the berries in a covered container.

Hannah’s Whipped Crème Fraîche

(This will hold for several hours. Make it ahead of time and refrigerate it.) 2 cups heavy whipping cream

½ cup white sugar

½ cup sour cream (you can substitute unflavored yogurt, but it won’t hold as well and you’ll have to do it at the last minute)

½ cup brown sugar (to sprinkle on top after you assemble the dessert) Whip the cream with the white sugar. When it holds a firm peak (test it by dipping in your spatula), fold in the sour cream. You can do this by hand or by using the slowest speed on the mixer.

If you use canned whipped cream, just squirt it out until you have 2 cups and then fold in the half-cup of sour cream. Cover and refrigerate until it’s time to serve.

Assembling Strawberry Shortcake Swensen

Cut each Pound Plus Cake into 6 pie-shaped wedges and place the cake on dessert plates. Top with the sliced strawberries. Put several generous dollops of Hannah’s Whipped Crème Fraiche on top and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Garnish with the whole berries you reserved (unless you used frozen and don’t have any perfect berries). Serve and receive rave reviews.

“This is just heaven.” Julie stretched luxuriously and snuggled a little closer to Matt. They were sitting on the overstuffed couch in the living room of Aames House, a relatively new structure that had been built for parents who were staying overnight at the school. “I wonder if parents feel like this when their kids are in bed.”

Matt hugged her a little tighter. Her comment about parents and children was making him feel very fatherly. Not to Julie, of course. As far as Julie was concerned, his feelings were about as far from fatherly as…

“Do you think I should check to make sure they’re sleeping?” Julie asked, interrupting the fantasy that was just starting to form in his mind.

“I don’t think it’s necessary. You told them we’d be watching a movie down here. If something’s wrong, they’ll come down the stairs to get us.”

“You’re right. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have children. I’d probably be an overprotective mother.”

“That’s okay. I tend to give kids their independence early. We’d balance each other out.” Matt kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled sweet, like flowers. As he tipped her face up to kiss her, he wondered idly whether she used some kind of special shampoo or if the woodsy sweetness was her own individual scent. It reminded him of morning dew, and freshly mown grasses, and precious little violets hiding deep in the forest. Then Julie gave a little sigh and molded her body to his, and Matt stopped thinking altogether.

It had been an innocent comment on her part. She’d realized she’d been worrying about the kids and she’d told him she’d probably be an overprotective mother. And then he’d said it was all right, that they’d balance each other out. Did that mean Matt wanted to have children with her? And even more important, did he even know what he’d said? Was it merely a slip of the tongue? Or could it be a slip of the heart?

Julie’s mind spun as their kiss deepened. It was impossible to think when she was this blissful. Matt’s arms were warm and protective around her, and she took delight in hearing the beat of his heart. All of her senses were alive. Every nerve and sinew was thrumming in anticipation. There would be time to think later. Right now all she wanted to do was enjoy this wonderful moment and hope it never stopped.

“They’re kissing,” Spenser reported, sticking his head in the girls’ room where they all waited for the latest news.

Serena snorted. “That’s what you said the last time.”

“Well, they’re still doing it. That’s all they’ve done for the last five minutes. The movie’s going, but they’re not watching. They’re just kissing.”

Joy looked puzzled. “Don’t they have to stop sometime so they can come up for air?”

“You can breathe while you’re kissing,” Serena told her. “You kiss with your lips and breathe through your nose.”

“Is it like snorkeling?” Larry wanted to know.

“No, it’s the other way around,” Spenser explained. “You have to breathe through your mouth when you snorkel. If you breathe through your nose, you’ll drown.”

Serena looked dubious. “How do you know so much about snorkeling? People in Minnesota don’t do it.”

“I know, but they do it down in Florida. My dad used to live there, and we went snorkeling in the Keys before he died. But how do you know so much about kissing?”

“Uh…well…” Serena sputtered slightly. It was clear she didn’t know what to say.

“I think it’s because she reads those books all the time,” Joy explained.

“What books?”

“Love books. You know…the ones that are all romantic. Serena’s got one under her pillow right now.”

For a moment, Serena looked as if she might deny it, but then she just nodded. “I like them. They’re a lot more fun than doing homework. But this isn’t about me. It’s about Mr. Sherwood and Miss Jansen. You watched them for a long time, Spense. Do you think he’s going to ask her to marry him?”

Spenser shrugged. “How would I know?”

“There are ways to tell. I’d better go with you to see for myself.” Serena led the way to the door. “The rest of you stay here and be quiet. We’ll be back in five minutes and I’ll tell you what’s really going on.”

“What was that?” Matt asked, sitting back, startled.

Julie laughed breathlessly. “My cell phone. I put it on vibrate so it wouldn’t disturb us.”

“Well…it did.” Matt started to chuckle too. “For a second there, I thought we were having an earthquake.”

Julie clamped her lips shut to keep from making a quip about how the earth had moved, or anything similar. But Matt seemed to be waiting for her response, so she said, “I don’t think we have earthquakes in Minnesota.”

“Sure we do. I was just reading about it on the Internet with the kids. They’re not as noticeable as the temblors they have in California, but that’s because the magnitude is much lower. Are you going to get that, Julie?”

“Get what?”

“Your cell phone. It’s still vibrating.”

“Oh. I guess I’d better. I gave Dr. Caulder my number before he left in case he wanted to check in with us.”

“Don’t you mean check up on us?”

“That too.” Julie retrieved her phone. “Hello?” There was a pause while she listened, and then she laughed. “Nothing’s wrong. As a matter of fact, things are going very well. It just took me a minute to answer the phone, that’s all.”

Matt cocked his head slightly, and Julie knew he was wondering if she was talking to Dr. Caulder. Her eyes began to sparkle as her mischievous side came out. It wouldn’t hurt to tease Matt a bit. “They’re all in bed, so this is our personal time alone together. We were just sitting here on the couch, watching a movie that we weren’t really watching.”

Matt’s jaw dropped like a character in a Saturday morning cartoon, and Julie gave a little chuckle under her breath as she turned back to the phone. “Sure thing. I’ll go look tomorrow. Tonight Matt and I are…busy.”

There was a strangled sound from her fellow teacher and Julie had all she could do not to laugh out loud. “What’s the matter?” she asked, as she ended the call.

“You weren’t talking to…”

“Of course not,” Julie cut him off before he could get too worried. “That was Hannah. She wanted to find out if Mrs. Dryer had any cookie cutters in the kitchen, and I’m supposed to call her back tomorrow.

I was just teasing you, Matt. I’d never say anything to Dr. Caulder that would embarrass you.”

Matt gave a relieved sigh, and then he looked a little sheepish. “I guess I should have known.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. There’s really no way you could have known. We’re not familiar enough with each other yet.”

“That’s fixable,” Matt said, pulling her back into his arms and picking up right where they’d left off before Julie’s phone had interrupted them.

Hannah hung up the phone with a grin. Julie was every bit as much a tease as she’d been in high school, and it was clear she’d been playing some sort of joke on Matt. She just hoped that Matt had a good sense of humor.