In this tale of festivals, bakery woes, and being framed for murder, returning heroine Maddy has her hands full in the newest installment of the Baker Street Mysteries. As you cheer Maddy and her team on to save their bakery’s reputation and find a killer, you’ll love indulging in a slice of this heavenly chocolate cake.
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup room-temperature coffee (If you’re feeling brave, try espresso.)
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup corn oil
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)
- Preheat oven to 350°, and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with cooking spray) 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another large bowl, whisk together eggs, coffee, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until combined. (Batter will be runny.) Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted into centers of cake layers comes out clean, 27 to 32 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes.
- Lightly spray 2 wire racks with cooking spray. Invert cake layers onto prepared racks, and let cool completely.
- Place a cake layer on a cake plate. Using a large offset spatula, spread approximately one-fourth of Chocolate Frosting onto top of cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting onto top and sides of cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- 6 ounces, coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- In a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate, not letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter until smooth and creamy, approximately 1 minute. Add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract and then chocolate at low speed until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Acclaimed author Valerie Burns returns to her fresh, new culinary cozy series set in a charming small-town featuring Madison Montgomery, a social media expert turned bakery owner and sleuth. This light, fast-paced mystery will appeal to fans of Joanne Fluke, Laura Childs, Ellery Adams, and Ellie Alexander.
With small town New Bison’s Spring Baking Festival just around the corner, the pressure is on Maddy to continue her late Great Aunt Octavia’s legacy. That means scoring the top prize and transforming Baby Cakes into Southwestern Michigan’s must-visit bakery, even though her inexperience in the kitchen brings nightmares of humiliating tagged photos and scathing one-star reviews.
And, there’s another reason for lost beauty sleep. A second bakery is opening in town under the ownership of CJ Davenport, a shrewd investor with a reputation for sabotaging anyone who gets in his way. And savvy, flashy Maddy tops his list. It’s a sticky spot to be in—more so when Davenport turns up dead with a Baby Cakes’s knife stuck in his back.
Maddy’s whole life just went from #thriving to barely surviving. Now, supported by the crafty Baker Street Irregulars and her new boyfriend, she must find the courage to face off against a killer who could very well get her name trending for the first and last time.
Valerie (V. M.) Burns is a mystery writer whose novels and short stories have been finalists for the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and the Crime Writers’ Association. She is also an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in the southeastern United States with her two poodles. Connect with Valerie at VMBurns.com.
