Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(39)

Spray a Bundt pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Zest your lemons. They should yield approximately 2 teaspoons of zest. Measure out ? teaspoon of zest and save it for the frosting. The remainder will go in your cake batter.

Place the dry white cake mix and the dry vanilla pudding mix in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them together on low speed until they’re combined.

Add the vegetable oil, sour cream, vodka, and lemon zest (except for the half-teaspoon you reserved). Beat on low speed until thoroughly mixed.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time on MEDIUM speed, beating after each addition. When you’re through, this batter should be nice and fluffy. If it’s not, turn the mixer up to HIGH and beat for 2 additional minutes.

Take the bowl out of the mixer, chop the white chocolate chips into smaller pieces so they won’t all sink to the bottom of the cake and mix them in by hand. Don’t overstir. You want to keep as much air as possible in the batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes until a cake tester or a thin wooden skewer inserted in the center of the ring comes out clean.

Cool the Double Whammy Lemon Cake for 20 minutes on a cold burner or a wire rack.

After 20 minutes, loosen the edges of the cake with a knife. Don’t forget to run the knife around the tube in the center of the Bundt pan to loosen that, too.

Invert a large plate on top of the Bundt pan, flip it over, and unmold the cake. Let it cool completely on the plate before frosting it with Double Whammy Lemon Frosting.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you would prefer not to use alcohol in this cake, simply substitute cup light cream for the vodka and call it Lemon Cream Cake. It’s yummy that way, too.

DOUBLE WHAMMY LEMON FROSTING

1 pound box powdered (confectioners) sugar

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

? cup vodka (I used Tito’s Handmade Vodka)

2 teaspoons lemon extract

? teaspoon lemon zest

Reserve a half-cup of the powdered sugar and place the rest in a mixing bowl. Beat in the softened butter.

Continue to beat as you drizzle in the vodka and lemon extract.

Mix in the lemon zest you reserved for this frosting.

If the frosting is too thick, add a little more vodka. If it’s too thin, add a little more of the powdered sugar you reserved. When the frosting has reached spreading consistency, frost your Double Whammy Lemon Cake. (Don’t forget to frost the inside of the tunnel in the center of your cake!)

Hannah’s Note: If you would prefer not to use alcohol in this cake, simply substitute ? cup light cream for the vodka and call it Lemon Cream Frosting.

Chapter Thirteen


“Okay, Mother. I’ll come out there right after I feed Moishe,” Hannah said, glancing down at the cat who was rubbing up against her ankles. “Is there anything I should bring? I could stop at The Cookie Jar and pick up something.”

“No, dear. Barbara can’t have solid food yet. Norman said he was going to work on her bridge this afternoon and he told Doc that he’d bring it out to the hospital tomorrow. If her mouth has healed enough, he’ll put it in and then she’ll be able to eat soft food.”

“That’s good news,” Hannah responded even though she wondered if Norman had gone back to the dental clinic to work on Barbara’s bridge after his lunch with Doctor Bev. “I made a double batch of Mom’s Bran Muffins yesterday and it made six dozen. Would you like me to bring some out to you and Doc?”

“I don’t care for bran, dear, but Doc is always looking for good bran recipes for his senior patients. The only bran muffins I’ve ever liked were Great-Grandma Elsa’s.”

“That’s what these are.”

“But you said they were Mom’s Bran Muffins.”

“That’s what it says on the recipe, but Grandma Ingrid must have written it down. The recipe was on the back of a gas bill that’s addressed to Grandma and Grandpa Swensen.”

“Oh, my goodness! I hope they paid it!” Delores exclaimed.

“They paid it, Mother. It’s stamped Paid in Full.”

“That’s a relief. What time will you be here, dear?” Hannah glanced up at the apple-shaped clock on her kitchen wall and mentally calculated the time it would take her to feed Moishe, change clothes, and drive out to the hospital. “You can tell Doc Knight I’ll be there within the hour. And I’ll bring enough muffins for both of you.”

Once she’d hung up the phone, Hannah gave a little sigh. She’d been home less than thirty minutes when the phone had rung. Of course she’d thought about not answering, but there was something about a ringing phone that was too compelling to deny. She’d picked up the receiver, said hello, and heard the request from her mother. It seemed that Barbara was extremely agitated today and she wanted to see Hannah.

“Hold on, Moishe. I’ll get your food in just a minute,” she told the cat, whose rubs against her ankles had turned into head butts that demanded attention. There was still a little kitty kibble in his bowl from his breakfast, but that wouldn’t satisfy him for long. Moishe knew from past experience that there would be better, more interesting food coming with dinner.

“Salmon or tuna?” Hannah asked him, taking two cans of gourmet cat food out of the cupboard.