A Pinch of Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery (Frosted Love Mysteries Book 2) (10 page)

With warm Louisiana sunshine glinting off of her golden coat, Toffee bounded joyfully into the arms of her owner, covering her face with sloppy doggy kisses. Missy cried and held on tight, glad to be home, glad to be greeted by her best friend, and glad to have been saved yet again, by her scarred and shy hero, Detective Chas Beckett. She was alive, she was recovering from the trauma inflicted upon her at the hands of a psychopathic
‘
man scorned,
’
and she had a booming business that had only profited from the publicity generated by the horrific crime that she had helped solve in Las Vegas. Ben had handled things perfectly during her absence and her home, her shop, her best friend and her heart were all safe and secure. Life at the moment was like a good batch of muffins, sweet and meant to be enjoyed.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 240g self-raising flour
  

• 140g golden caster sugar
  

• 1 tsp baking soda
  

• 240g egg-free mayonnaise
  

• 2 large or 3 small ripe bananas, mashed
  

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  

• 25g vegan dark chocolate chips
  

For the icing

• 80g vegan margarine
  

• 250g icing sugar
  

• 25ml vegan milk (we used almond milk)
  

• 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat heat your oven to 350 degrees F and line the muffin pan with tins.

Then combine the sugar, flour, 1⁄2 tsp of salt and the baking soda together in a bowl. Using a second bowl you’re going to mix the mayonnaise, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas together to form the wet ingredients.

2. Next, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mixing just until combined (be careful not to over-mix the batter else your cupcakes can come out heavy).

Spoon the batter into the tins and bake for about 20 mins.

3. Take the cupcakes out of oven take the chocolate chips and sprinkle them over the top –  so that they melt. Be sure not to touch them during this process as we need the chocolate to harden again uninterrupted.

4. To make the icing, place the icing sugar & the vegan margarine in the bowl of an electric mixer, and slowly add vegan milk. Start mixing on slow then ramping up the speed until the mixture is completely combined. Next, run the mixer at high speed for 3 mins to further combine. Lastly, take the peanut butter and stir it into the icing mixture. To decorate,  take the icing and place it into a piping bag and slowly pressing, create a nice swirl of icing on top or you can just spread the icing on top with a spatula. Store in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
  

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

• 1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar
  

• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  

• 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  

• 2 large eggs, must be at room temperature
  

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  

• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk (or even buttermilk, do not use skim milk or 1% milk)
  

SALTED CARAMEL ICING

• 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115 grams) salted butter (or unsalted butter)
  

• 1 cup (200 grams) packed dark brown sugar
  

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
  

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

• 2-3 cups (240-360 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
  

• additional pinch of salt, as needed
  

• salted caramel candies for decoration, optional
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To start, Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Place liners in a 12-cup muffin pan, and line a second pan with just 2 liners for the excess.  Next, to prevent any warping of the pan while cooking, fill the other 10 muffin cups with water and set aside.
   
2. Take a large bowl and whisk together the baking powder, flour, and salt.  In a medium bowl, cream  the sugars  and butter together on medium to high speed just until they are light and fluffy, so about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until completely combined. Now slowly fold in the four mixture completely, scraping the sides of the bowl down as you go. Then slowly stir in the milk just until it’s incorporated, you don’t want to over-mix the batter.
   
3. Fill the cupcake liners about half way with the batter and bake for 22-23 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool  before frosting, so for about 1 hour.
   
4. While the cupcakes cool, take the butter and melt it in a small saucepan on medium heat. Once melted,  mix in the heavy cream and brown sugar stir to dissolve the sugar. Next add the salt and let it bubble for 3 full minutes and no more. Then remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool for about 15 mins.
   (Note: Don’t put it in the fridge to cool, it needs to cool slowly.) 
   Once cooled take the mixture and place it in a mixing bow and beat in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until it’s nice and smooth. If you want the icing to be creamier or a little thinner you can mix in a little heavy cream; about a tablespoon or so. If the frosting tastes too sweet add in a tiny bit of salt to balance it out. Top cooled cupcakes with icing and place a little chocolate & caramel candy on top to finish it off. 
   

5.
    
A letter from the Author

To each and every one of my beautiful readers:
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
 
Let me what you think by leaving a review!

I’ll be releasing another installment in Late May 2015 so to stay in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff)
 
Join my Book club
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Stay Curious,

Carol Durand