At the request of reader/friend Denise Turocy, I’m adding this page to facilitate finding recipes contained in the Daphne Martin Mystery Series. So, thanks for the idea, Denise!
Murder Takes the Cake
BLACK CAT CUPCAKES
Cupcakes
Chocolate Icing
Chocolate-Covered Crème Drops (?) – Cut in Half
Skittles®, Reeses Pieces®, M&Ms® or some other round candy pieces
Candy Corn Pieces
Skinny Pretzel Rods
Instructions: Frost the cupcakes with chocolate icing. Put a chocolate-covered crème drop half (white center facing the inside) at each top side of the cupcake for the cat’s ears. Add round candy pieces for eyes, a candy corn pointing downward for the nose, and two pretzel sticks on each side of the nose (> <) for whiskers.
Daphne’s Grandmother’s Turkey Dressing
Ingredients:
2 long loaves of bread
2 medium onions (diced)
Cooking oil
Salt
Pepper
Turkey or chicken broth
Rubbed Sage
Preheat oven to 350°. Toast bread on both sides until lightly browned. Sauté onions in enough oil to cover bottom of frying pan. Crumble toast in large bowl. Add sage and pepper to taste. Pour in onions. Saturate mixture with broth. Mix well. Add rubbed sage to taste. Bake at 350° until brown.
SWISS DOT CAKE
Prepare a square or a standard 9” x 13” cake according to package or recipe directions. Let cool completely. If using a 9” x 13” cake, cut in half. Refrigerate cake for approximately 30 minutes before making the cut.
Place one layer on a cake board and spread icing evenly on the top. Place second layer on top of first. Frost entire cake smoothly using a long, angled cake spatula. Ice the cake twice if crumbs appear after one coat is applied. Refrigerate cake for 20 minutes before applying second coat.
Pipe a series of medium-large dots for the top and bottom borders. Use a cake bag with tip number 4 or 5 and apply medium to heavy pressure. When piping dots, hold bag at 90º angle to cake. Squeeze, stop the pressure and pull the bag away. If peaks appear, slip tip to the side when pulling away. Peaks can also be smoothed with your finger dipped in cornstarch.
Pipe small dots on the sides and top of the cake using tip number 4 (or smaller). Use light pressure to achieve smaller dots.
Use a strand of pearls (from your hobby or craft store) to further adorn the cake. Estimate the length of each side of the cake. Cut the pearls to size and gently place strand against the outside of the top border. Repeat for the inside of the top border. Repeat on the bottom border, placing pearl strands above and below the border.
Top the cake with a sprig of your favorite artificial flowers. Pipe a large mound of icing in the center of the cake and insert the flowers into this mound.
Dead Pan
These wonderful recipes were contributed by Holly Clegg for publication in Dead Pan.
Apple, Brie, and Brown Sugar Pizza
Oh my goodness….this is the absolute best!! Imagine a thin crisp crust topped with rich, creamy Brie and cinnamon apples. This pizza could be served for brunch, a snack or a light dessert. It is hard to beat or resist hot out of the oven—even a house full of 20 year old boys were grabbing for another piece. Miniature pizza crusts are a fun way to serve these pizzas.
Makes 8 slices
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust
4 ounces Brie, rind removed and thinly sliced
1 large baking apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven 450?F.
2. On top of pizza crust, arrange Brie and apple slices concentrically around crust. In small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients, sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake 10–12 minutes or until cheese is melted and apples are tender. Slice, serve.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 193, Calories from fat (%) 33, Fat (g) 7, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Cholesterol (mg) 14, Sodium (mg) 328, Carbohydrate (g) 26, Dietary Fiber (g) 1, Sugars (g) 10, Protein (g) 6, Diabetic Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 medium-fat meat
Terrific Tidbit: I prefer Granny Smith apples as they are tart and compliment the Brie. Any large, thin round, unbaked pizza crust may be used.
Sweet Potato Praline Coffee Cake
Hot out of the oven, these scrumptious melt-in-your mouth eye-appealing recipe is hard to beat and best of all, it tastes equally as good after being frozen. The sensational Praline topping glazes the top making every bite a yummy one. A personal favorite.
Makes 12 servings
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix
1 (15-ounce) can sweet potatoes (yams), drained and mashed or 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1. Preheat oven to 400° F. In 9x9x-2 square nonstick baking pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in 2/3 cup brown sugar and corn syrup; spread evenly in pan. Sprinkle with pecans.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat together biscuit baking mix, sweet potatoes, and milk until dough forms a ball.
3. Turn dough onto a surface dusted with baking mix, knead several times and roll or pat into 12-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons brown sugar and cranberries.
4. Roll up dough jellyroll style from longer side. Cut crosswise into one-inch pieces and arrange sitting on top of pecan mixture in pan. The dough will spread when baking.
5. Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately turn upside down onto serving plate.
To Prepare and Eat Now: Eat when ready.
To Freeze: Cool to room temperature, wrap, label and freeze.
To Serve: Thaw to room temperature and serve. The coffee cake may be reheated in the oven at 350° F. or in the microwave.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 276, Protein (g) 2, Carbohydrate (g) 43, Fat (g) 11, Calories from Fat (%) 36, Saturated Fat (g) 4, Dietary Fiber (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 10, Sodium (mg) 360, Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 2 fat