Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(63)

“You told me that once before,” Hannah said. “I was hoping those Red Velvet Cookies I made for your birthday would bring back the memory of the fight you had with Gus the night he left Lake Eden for good. I think that’s one of the keys to this whole thing, Jack. I wish you could remember what that fight was about.”

“So do I. But I’ve tried and I can’t.”

“Don’t try so hard. Just eat another couple of the cookies tomorrow. You daughter, Iris, said Emmy used to bake them when Iris was really little.”

“They did taste familiar. It’s probably why I thought they were so good. I miss her, you know.”

“Your wife?”

“That’s the hardest thing about getting old. Everybody you knew when you were young is dead.”

“It must be horribly depressing,” Hannah commented, feeling horribly depressed just thinking about it.

“It is. But then there’s the upside.”

“What’s that?”

“You get to outlive your enemies. That’s the good part…unless you’re the guy that killed them, of course.”

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE

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

WARNING: THERE ARE PEANUTS IN THIS RECIPE. MAKE SURE YOU ASK IF ANYONE IS ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS BEFORE YOU BAKE AND SERVE THIS CAKE!!!

Hannah’s 1stNote: Lisa says she got the idea for this cake by watching Marge make her Cocoa Fudge Cake. Since Herb is crazy about Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Lisa’s cake combines peanut butter and chocolate.

Butter and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch sheet cake pan. (You can also spray it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then just lightly dust it with flour. You can also do what Lisa did and spray it with a product that mixes nonstick cooking spray with flour.)

Hannah’s 2ndNote: I was really leery of the nonstick cooking spray mixed with flour, but Lisa says it works just fine.

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

2 cups flour (don’t sift—just level it off with a knife)

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1 cup butter (2 sticks, ? pound, 8 ounces)

1 cup peanut butter (Lisa used Skippy creamy peanut butter)

1 cup water

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? cup cream (or evaporated milk, if you’re all out of cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

Hannah’s 3rdNote: Lisa used the mixer down at The Cookie Jar to make this cake. She says you can also do it by hand if you don’t have an electric mixer.

Mix the sugar and the flour together at low speed.

Put the butter, peanut butter, and water into a medium-sized saucepan. Turn the burner on medium heat and bring the mixture ALMOST to a boil. (When it sends up little whiffs of steam and bubbles start to form around the edges, take it off the heat.)

Pour the peanut butter mixture over the sugar and flour, and mix it all up together.

Rinse out the saucepan, but don’t bother to wash it thoroughly. You’ll be making a frosting and you can use it again before you really wash it.

Whisk the cream, vanilla extract, baking soda, and eggs together in a small bowl.

SLOWLY, add this mixture to the large mixer bowl and combine it at medium speed. (You have to go slowly with this step because you have the hot peanut butter mixture in your bowl and you’re adding an egg mixture. This cake wouldn’t be wonderful if you ended up with peanut butter flavored scrambled eggs!)

Scrape down the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula, remove it from the mixer, and give it a final stir by hand.

Pour the batter into the 9-inch by 13-inch greased and floured cake pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes. When the cake begins to shrink away from the sides of the pan and a long toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, it’s done.

Hannah’s 4thNote: Lisa uses my Neverfail Fudge Frosting on this cake. It’s given as an alternative frosting at the end of Marge’s Cocoa Fudge Cake recipe, but I’ll write it down again here.

NEVERFAIL FUDGE FROSTING

? cup (1 stick, ? pound, 4 ounces) salted butter

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

1/3 cup cream

? cup chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

? cup chopped salted peanuts (optional)

Place the butter, sugar, and cream into a medium-size saucepan (You can use the one from the cake that you didn’t wash.) Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes.

Add the half-cup chocolate chips, stir them in until they’re melted, and remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the frosting on the cake and spread it out quickly with a spatula. If you’re pouring it on a warm cake or a cold cake, just grab the pan and tip it so the frosting covers the whole top.

Sprinkle the chopped salted peanuts (if you decided to use them) over the top of the frosting.

If you want this frosting to cool in a big hurry so that you can cut the cake, just slip it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a half-hour or so.

Hannah’s 5thNote: Lisa says to tell you that this cake is absolutely yummy if you serve it slightly warm. It’s also wonderful at room temperature. If you keep it in the refrigerator, take it out 45 minutes or so before you plan to serve it.